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GEORGE CLINTON 



Stories From 
Early New York History 



BY 



SHERMAN WILLIAMS 

CONDUCTOR OF TEACHERS' INSTITUTE 
STATE OF NEW YORK EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 



ILLUSTRATED 



NEW YORK 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

1906 






LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two CoDies Rpc^ived 

JUL 9 1906 

Caoyrighi Entry 
LASS tL iXz. No, 

/ 6^0 / f 7 

COPY B, 





Copyright, 1906, by 
CHARLES SCRIP.NER'S SONS 



THE Ol'TING PRESS 
DKI'OSIT, N. Y. 



PREFACE 

THE history of our state is not well known by its own sons and 
daughters. There is little opportunity for our boys and girls 
to become acquainted with it. Its story is very briefly and imper- 
fectly told in our school histories. This perhaps is necessarily so. 
It is because the author feels the need of having the history of the 
more important events that have occurred in our state known to the 
boys and girls who are growing up that this volume has been 
written. 

The early inhabitants of X^ew England kept diaries and their 
descendants have written histories, consequently the part that New 
England, particularly Massachusetts, took in the development of 
our country has been fully, possibly a little boastfully, told by the 
loyal descendants of those who contributed so much toward making 
the history of our country glorious. 

On the other hand the early Dutch in New York did their duty 
as thev saw it, fought if called upon to do so, then went back to their 
homes, sat and smoked their pipes, and said little or nothing of 
their deeds. They kept no diaries. Their descendants have not 
written histories : so the story of the battle of Golden Hill has not 
been told, as has that of the Uoston Massacre, Avhich occurred later. 
The story of the battle of lUmker 11 ill is told everywhere, and 
every school boy knows it, but the far more important battle of 
Oriskanv is barelv mentioned in anv of our school histories, and not 



viii PREFACE 

at all in some of them, therefore it is unknown to the great mass of 
our people. So it is with much of the history of the Empire State. 
Give Massachusetts full credit for her glorious record, she deserves 
it, but let not the trials, sufferings, and noble achievements of the 
people of our own state be forgotten. No other state has so noble 
and so glorious a history. 

This little book has been written in the hope of arousing such an 
interest in our early history that all our boys and girls will desire 
to know it. Our young people should be proud of our state. They 
will be if they know its history. 

One who is proud of his state, of his race, of his family, of the 
community in which he lives, is a better neighbor, a more creditable 
member of his family, reflects more honor on his race, and is a better 
citizen because of such pride. 

I would have our bo}s and girls know the history of our state 
that they may know how much they owe to those who did so much 
to make possible such lives as we now live. I should like them to 
know the hardships of the frontier life that had to be borne, that we 
might have the comforts which we possess. A\'hen we recall the 
fact that only a little over a hundred years ago half our people lived 
in log huts; that window glass was a luxury, even in the towns; 
that some used oiled paper in the place of glass, but that the larger 
number had no natural light in their houses save that which came 
through open doors or shutters ; that carpets of any kind were 
rare luxuries ; that there were few cooking utensils, no stoves, and 
few conveniences of any sort ; and no furniture but the rude kind 
made by those who used it. we shall have some comprehension of 
what we owe to our forefathers. 



PREFACE ix 

The making of our state has not been the work of a single 
people, or a single creed, or a single set of political principles. In 
the early days both Whig and Tory aided in its upbuilding. Jew, 
Catholic and Protestant have contributed to its welfare. English, 
Dutch, Irish, Scotch, German, Welsh, French, and other nationali- 
ties have all been indispensable to the best outcome. All these 
people ; their diversity of religious thought ; their difference in 
political convictions, have, when properly regarded and used, 
helped to make a great state and a great people. 



CONTENTS 



New Netherland . . . . 

Who Discovered the Hudson ? 
New Amsterdam .... 
The West India Company 
The Dutch Governors . . . , 

Peter Minuit, 1626-1633 

WouTER Van Twiller, 1633-163 7 

William Kieft, 1637-1647 . 

Peter Stuyvesant, 1647-1664 
The English Capture New Amsterdam . 
The Patroons 
Anti-Rent Troubles 
A Few Interesting Facts 
Funeral Customs . 
Amusements 

Under English Rule 
Jacob Leisler 
In 1697 ... 
John Peter Zenger 
The Negro Plot 
Slavery' in New York 



Points of Historic Interest in Old New York 
Wall Street ....... 

The Jumel Mansion ... 

Golden Hill . 

The Bowery . 

City Hall 

Trinity' Church 

The Battery . 

Bowling Green 



CONTENTS 



Fraunces' Tavern . 

The Beekman House 

The Philipse Manor House 

St. George's Chapel 

Early Schools 

The Middle Dutch Church 

The Old Sugar House 

New York in the Revolution 

New York as the Capital of the Nation 
Some Old Dutch Churches 
Some Points of Interest 

The Iroquois Confederacy 

Origin of the Confederacy . 

An Iroquois Myth . 

The Coming of the Whites 

Expeditions Against the Iroquois 

Iroquois Characteristics 

Location .... 

The Government of the Iroquois 

Line of Descent 

Home Life of the Iroquois 

The Long House 

The Food of the Indians 

Indian Industries and Inventions 

Indian Games .... 

Wampum ..... 

Sir William Johnson, 1715-1774 
Manager of His Uncle's Estate 
Making a Home 
In Public Life 
The Home at Johnstown 

Joseph Brant 

Indian Raids and Massacres 
cobleskill 
Springfield 



CONTENTS 



Wyoming 

German Flatts 

Cherry Valley 

The Battle of Minisink 

Canajoharie 

The Schoharie Valley 

Sullivan's Expedition 

General Philip Schuyler 



Burgoyne's Invasion . 

The Battle of Bennington 

Jane McCrea . 

The Battle of Oriskany 



The Great War-Path 
i6og 
1642 
1666 
1689 
1690 
i6gi 
1693 
1745 
1755 
1756 

1757 
Ticonderoga 

1758 
1759 



The Niagara Frontier 
Prideaux's Expedition 
Devil's Hole Massacre 



West Point and the Lower Hudson 
Andre ...... 

The Military School at West Point 



CONTEXTS 



Kingston 
Albany . 
Newburg 

Two Noted Houses 

Along Lake Cham plain 

Through the Mohawk Val 
The Beukendaal Fight 
Fort Hunter 
Auriesville 
Tribes Hill 
The Butler House 
Stone Arabia . 
Fonda 

Canajoharie 
The Palatines 
Palatine 
Fort Plain 
The Palatine Church 
Danube . 
Steuben 
German Flatts 
Little Falls . 
Fort Stanwix 
During the Revolution 



PACE 
249 

256 

259 

265 
268 
270 
271 
272 
272 

274 
274 
275 
277 
278 
278 
280 
280 
281 
283 
284 
285 



Appendix 
Index 



287 

307 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Georee Clinton 



Frontispiece 



The Half-Moon 

Henry Hudson 

Map of New York in 1642 

First City Hall, Built in 1642 . 

Governor's House and Church within the Fort 

Peter Stuyvesant 

Stuyvesant's House at Whitehall, Erected 1658 

Stuyvesant's House in the Bowery 

A Dutch Windmill 

New Amsterdam in 1656. . * 

Canal in Broad Street in 1659 . 

St. Mark's Church . 

Tomb of Peter Stuyvesant 

Van Rensselaer Manor House 

Kip's House . 

Seal of the City 

Pillory 

Block-House and City Gate in 1674 

A Dutch Cottage in 1679 

Old Dutch House on Pearl Street, 1697 

Section of City Wall Built in 1653 

Federal Hall .... 

The Jumel Mansion, i6ist Street 

Statue to Nathan Hale . 

Trinity Church 

Bowling Green after the Revolution 

Long Room — Fraunces' Tavern 

The Philipse Manor House 

St. George's Chapel 

Fort George and City of New York in 1740 



4 
14 
16 



24 

25 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
34 
37 
38 
39 
44 
45 
51 
58 
59 
60 
61 
64 
66 
68 
69 
70 
71 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



First Free School Building in New York . 

Old Postoffice, Formerly Middle Dutch Church 

Old Sugar House in Liberty Street 

Ferry House, 1746, Fulton Street, Brooklyn 

Map Showing the Territory Burned Over in 1776 

The Franklin House ..... 

Grant's Tomb ...... 

St. Paul's Chapel ..... 

Washington Arch ...... 

The Old South Church in Garden Street 

New Dutch Chvirch ..... 

Map of the Territory of the Six Nations . 

Samuel Champlain ..... 

Indian Village on Manhattan Island 

Iroquois Totems ...... 

The Iroquois Long House .... 

I. Bark Tray; 2. IMeal Sieve; 3. Corn Husk Bottle; 4. Basket; 5. 
Bowl; 6. Ladle; 7. Spoon; 8. Ladle; g. Bark Tray; 10. Axe; 
II. Gouge; 12. Stone Chisel; 13. Axe; 14. Mortar and Pestle 

I. Indian Baby Frame; 2. Indian Baby Frame; 3. Moccasins; 4. Moc- 
casins; 5. Moccasins; 6. Baby Frame and Moccasins; 7 and 8. 
Elm Bark Fibre; 9. Moccasins ....... 

I. Bow; 2. Bow Case and Quiver; 3. Arrows; 4. Javelin; 5. La- 
crosse Stick; 6. Snow Snake; 7. Snow Shoe; 8. Birch Bark Canoe 

I. War Club; 2 and 3. Tomahawks; 4, 5 and 6. Wampum Belts; 
7, 8, g, 10, II, 12 and 13. Pipes; 
and Spear Heads 

Sir William Johnson 

Mount Johnson 

West Ditch of Fort William Henry 

Bloody Pond 

Fort Oswego .... 

Johnson Hall 

Statue of Sir William Johnson and Kinj. 
at Lake George 

Joseph Brant 

Brant's Monument at Brantford 

Map of the Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys 



14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. Arrow 



Hendrick at the 



72 
73 
74 
76 

77 
79 
81 
80 
82 

83 

84 

91 
98 

105 
log 
114 



117 



119 



123 





■ •'-'/ 




. 129 




• ^33 




. 141 




• 143 




• 145 




. 148 


State 


Park 




■ 149 




■ 152 




. 156 




■ 157 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Map of the Territory Visited by Sullivan's Expedition 

General John Sullivan 

General James Clinton 

Otsego Lake . 

General Philip Schuyler 

Schuyler Mansion at Schuylerville 

Route of the Burgoyne Expedition 

General Burgoyne . 

Jane McCrea Monument . 

General Horatio Gates 

Saratoga Battle Monument 

Gen. Nicholas Herkimer . 

Colonel Gansevoort 

General Herkimer's House 

Fort Herkimer Church — Exterior and Interior 

The Great War-Path 

Lake George from Fort William Henry 

The Narrows, Lake George 

Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga 

Ruins of the Fort at Crown Point 

The Falls at Niagara 

Old Fort Niagara .... 

Plan of West Point 

The Beverley Robinson House 

Treason House .... 

Movements of Arnold and Andre 

Washington's Headquarters at Tappan 

Capture of Major Andre . 

Monument to the Captors of Andre . 

Looking North from West Point 

Constitution House at Kingston 

Ancient Dutch Church at Albany 

Washington's Headquarters at Newburg 

The Verplanck House 

Van Courtlandt Manor House 

Map of Lake Champlain . 

The Mabie House . 

The Mohawk at Auriesville 

The Butler House . 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIOXS 



Ancient Dutch Church at Caughnawaga 

The Old Frey House at Palatine 

Ancient Blockhouse, Fort Plain 

The Palatine Church 

Indian Castle Church 

Baron Steuben 

Octagon Church, Little Falls . 





PAGE 


274 




. 278 




• 279 




. 280 




. 281 




. 282 




■ 283 



Stories From 
Early New York History 



STORIES 

FROM 

EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



NEW NETHERLAND 

I was surprised ta find how few, if any, of my fellow citizens were aware 
that New York had ever been called New Amsterdam, or had heard of the 
names of its early Dutch Governors. — Washington Irving. 

If we are to know the history of our State well enough to 
comprehend the reasons for its development and its great pros- 
perity we must learn much more than an ordinary school history 
gives. Above all we must have a fairly clear idea of the influence 
of the Iroquois Confederacy, and the early Dutch settlers. 

The Dutch were a commercial people with great interests in 
India. In common with others they had long sought an all-water 
route to that country. Among the most noted of the men engaged 
in this search was an Englishman by the name of Henry Hudson. 
He had recently returned from a voyage in which he had been 
nearer to the north pole than any one else had ever been. Because 
of his numerous voyages, and because he was thought to know 
more about the American coast than any one else, the Dutch 
employed him to make another search for a north-west passage 
to India. 

On the 4th of April, 1609, with a crew of less than twenty men, 
he set forth on his momentous voyage in a little yacht of only 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



eighty tons burden. On the 12th of July he reached Penobscot Bay 
where he repaired some damages to his ship and then sailed south- 
ward, probably as far as Virginia. He then turned to the north 
and on the 28th of August entered the Delaware Bay. Being soon 
convinced that he would find no westward passage here he con- 
tinued his course north- 
ward and entered New 
York Bay. As he passed 
up the bay and entered the 
river the Indians, who very 
likely had never seen a ves- 
sel larger than a canoe, 
must have thought it a 
wonderful sight. The Half- 
Moon with its high stern 
and great spreading sails 
must have seemed a super- 
natural thing. It is said 
that the Indians looked upon 
Hudson and his men as 
being little less than gods. 
Hudson thought that his long search for a western passage was 
ended, for the water was salt to the taste, and the river looked like 
an arm of the sea, as the lower part of it really is. He continued 
to ascend the gradually narrowing body of water till he was as 
far north as Hudson, possibly as far as Albany, when he was 
reluctantly forced to the conclusion that he had entered a river 
instead of a strait as he had hoped. 

It may seem singular to us now that he should have been deceived 
at all as to the character of the body of water he had discovered, 
but if we recall the fact that at that time it was not supposed to be 
as far around the earth as we now know it to be. and that voyagers 
had seen across the Acomac peninsula into the Chesapeake Bay, and 




THE HALF-MOON 



NEW NETHERLAND 3 

also across the narrow strip of land that separates the Pamlico 
Sound from the Atlantic Ocean, it will no longer seem surprising to 
us. Hudson knew of these things and believed, as did others at 
that time, that only a narrow strip of land separated the Atlantic 
from the Indian Ocean, so it was reasonable to believe that a narrow 
strait might afford a passage from one to the other. 

WHO DISCOVERED THE HUDSON? 

Even at this late day it seems to be quite generally believed that 
Hudson was the first to discover the river which bears his name, 
but this is far from being the fact. It was on the 3d of Septem- 
ber, 1609, that he sailed into New York harbor, but a few Hollanders 
belonging to the Greenland Company had built two little huts on 
Manhattan Island and spent the winter there as early as 1598. In 
1524 John Verrazano, an Italian in the employ of the French, 
sailed into New York Bay and some distance up the river which 
he called Le Grand. No important results followed this discovery, 
though Verrazano reported it, and the French did some trading 
with the Indians and established a post near Albany. Possibly the 
failure to follow up this discovery was due to the fact that the 
French were terribly defeated at Pavia the next year and their 
king taken captive, and that two years later Verrazano was cap- 
tured by the Spaniards and hanged as a pirate. 

The year following the discovery of Verrazano, Stephen Gomez, 
a Portuguese in the service of the Spanish, entered New York 
harbor, traded with the Indians, and carried home a considerable 
quantity of furs, but for some reason the Spanish never again came 
so far north. 

While the French had established a trading station near Albany 
and built a fort on a low island a few miles south of that city, tliey 
had abandoned both the station and the trade long before the coming 
of Hudson. 



4 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

It is quite possible that the Northmen may have visited the 
Hudson at a date much earher than any of those mentioned, but 
none of these discoveries detract at all from the importance of 
Hudson's, for it was from his, and his only, that any important 
results followed. 

Early in October Hudson returned to Holland and reported 
his discoveries and the fact that the Indians had great stores of 

furs, but the Dutch were angry because 
he had failed in the chief purpose of 
his voyage. He went to England and 
soon started upon another search for 
the much coveted north-west passage. 
This time he entered the great bay 
which bears his name. While there his 
men mutinied and set him, and all those 
who were loyal to him, adrift in an open 
boat. Neither he nor any of his com- 
panions was ever heard of after, though 
a rescuing party was sent from England 
to search for them. 

The Hudson has been known by a 
number of names. It was called North 
River to distinguish it from the Dela- 
ware which was then known as South River. It is still frequently 
called North River. Verrazano called it Le Grand on account of its 
size. The Dutch called it Mauritius in honor of Prince Maurice. 

NEW AMSTERDAM 




HENRY HUDSON 



New York, the second city of the world, and the first on this 
continent, in population, wealth, and commercial importance, though 
very young indeed in comparison with any of its rivals, has a most 
interesting and marvellous history, a history which all Americans, 



NEW NETHERLAND 5 

especially all residents of the Empire State, should know well. It has 
been in turn a Dutch village, an English town, and an American city. 

Soon after the discovery of Hudson several parties fitted out 
small vessels to engage in the fur trade with the Indians. Among 
the most noted of the captains employed in this work was Adrien 
Block, for whom Block Island was named. He came to this country 
in the ship Tiger in 1613. One cold November night his vessel 
was destroyed by fire just ofi:' the point now known as the Battery. 
He and his companions were compelled to winter on the island. 
Being a man of great energy and resource Block not only con- 
structed four small huts in which he and his men spent the winter, 
but he also built a forty-five foot yacht which he named the Restless. 
In a sense Block was the first settler in New York, and he certainly 
was the first ship-builder there. A bronze tablet at 41 Broadway 
marks the place where Block and his companions erected their 
houses. 

The early fur-traders were so prosperous that in 1614 the mer- 
chants of Amsterdam obtained from the States General a monopoly 
of the trade in the territory, which their agents had explored. Their 
organization was known as the "United New Netherland Company." 
At the extreme southern point of the island, just south of the pres- 
ent Bowling Green Park, they erected a house for their traders, 
naming it Fort Amsterdam. This was the real beginning of the 
city of New York. Little could those men have dreamed that they 
had begun what would in less than three hundred years become the 
second city of the world. 

Among the first acts of the agents of the New Netherland Com- 
l)any was a visit to the old fort which the French had built just 
below Albany in 1540. They found there an enclosure fifty-eight 
feet square, surrounded by a moat eighteen feet wide. They thor- 
oughly repaired the whole, named it Fort Nassau, furnished it with 
a dozen small cannon mounted on swivels, and left twelve men in 
charge. It was soon found necessary to change the location of 



6 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

the fort on account of floods and freshets so they moved four 
miles down the river ; later they moved again, this time to a place 
within the present limits of the city of Albany. The fort erected 
there was called Fort Orange. 

THE WEST INDIA COMPANY 

Those engaged in the fur trade grew wealthy rapidly and in 
1 62 1 they organized the West India Company which was granted 
almost imperial powers by the States General. Although a private 
company it was given a charter empowering it to contract alliances, 
declare war, make peace, build forts, ships and cities ; to administer 
justice, appoint and dismiss governors, and such other officers as 
might be needed in carrying on its various enterprises. It was 
granted a monopoly of all the trade on the Atlantic coasts of 
America and Africa. In return for all these powers and privileges 
the Company was to carry on trade in the territory in which it was 
given exclusive rights ; to attack the Spaniards in their American 
colonies ; and Spanish ships upon the seas. There were, however, 
some limitations upon the powers granted the Company. It had to 
obtain the consent of the States General before declaring war. and 
its most important appointments had to be confirmed by the home 
government. 

In case of a declaration of war the States General were bound to 
furnish the Company with a fleet of twenty war ships which the 
Company was to man and support at its own expense. In addition 
to this the Company was to maintain a fleet of its own. in case of 
war, consisting of not less than twenty ships. It had as a matter 
of fact on some occasions as many as seventy vessels in commission 
at the same time. 

There were three events of marked historical importance in the 
history of the Company. The capture of Bahia in 1624; the cap- 
ture of the Spanish silver fleet in 1628; and the conquest of Per- 
nambuco in 1630. 



NEW NETHERLAND 7 

A Spanish silver fleet consisted of large armed transports con- 
veying silver and gold from South America to Spain. These fleets 
were strongly armed because of their liability of being attacked 
by the enemies of Spain. Between 1626 and 1628 the Dutch West 
India Company captured one hundred and four Spanish prizes. 

The prizes captured by the Dutch were so numerous and so val- 
uable that for years the dividends of the Company ranged from 
twenty-five to seventy-five per cent, on the amount invested. This 
was so much more profitable than engaging in the fur trade, or in 
establishing settlements, that few were attracted to New Amsterdam 
and the colony gained very slowly in population. 

At the outset there had been no thought of any enterprise in this 
country beyond developing the fur trade, but as time went on plans 
were made for bringing over colonists, laying out farms, and build- 
ing towns. In 1623 thirty families of Walloons (French Protes- 
tants) came over in the ship New Netherland. Most of these peo- 
ple went to Long Island and settled on the site of the present city of 
Brooklyn. Others went to different localities, a few settled in the 
valley of the Connecticut, where the city of Hartford has since been 
built, a few went to Ulster County, and a small number to the Dela- 
ware River country. Sara Rapelje, a child of one of the Walloons 
who settled on Long Island, was the first white girl born in the 
colony. The name is still common in New^ York and on Long 
Island, though the spelling has been slightly changed. 

About this time the Company began to offer settlers some 
inducements to come to the country and people began to arrive in 
considerable numbers. During the first few years the Company 
was represented by several agents. The first governor was ap- 
pointed in 1626. 

THE DUTCH GOVERNORS 

With the exception that they could not inflict the death penalty 
the power of the governors sent over by the Dutch West India 



8 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Company was well nigh absolute. It is true that they were required 
to appoint a council composed of the wisest men of the colony, to 
whose advice they were to give due consideration, but the gov- 
ernors appointed whom they would and gave such consideration to 
their advice as they chose, or as was most frequently the case, none 
at all. There were a few other officers but they were mere creatures 
of the governor, or if they presumed to be more, means were found 
to get rid of them, or to interfere with the performance of their 
duties. 

The people were practically servants of the Company with very 
few rights of their own. They could not own land, or trade with 
the Indians, or even among themselves, as the Company had monop- 
olized all trade in the colony. The people were not allowed to 
engage in any kind of manufacturing, that also being one of the 
exclusive rights of the Company. 

As time went on these things were modified somewhat, but to 
the end of the Dutch rule the people had very few rights, the Com- 
pany and the patroons (great landed proprietors) having absolute 
control. Whether the government was harsh or mild depended solely 
upon the character of the governor and of the patroons. 

Peter Minuit 
1626-1633 

Peter Minuit, the first Dutch governor, came over in 1626. 
He was well fitted for the work assigned him, having a kindly dis- 
position, being inclined toward conciliation, and possessed of an 
inherent faculty for governing. In his lor.g experience with the 
West India Company he had become skilled in controlling new 
countries. One of his first acts was to purchase Manhattan Island 
of the Indians, and to establish friendly relations with them. On 
the 6th of May, 1626, he met them near where the Battery now is, 
and purchased from them the entire island consisting of some 
twentv thousand acres, for which he gave a few beads, some col- 



NEW NETHERLAXD 9 

ored cloth, brass ornaments, and bits of glass, the whole valued at 
twenty-four dollars. While this now seems a ridiculously small 
sum to pay for that island, those who are fond of arithmetical cal- 
culations say that this sum placed at interest at that time and the 
interest regularly compounded would by this time have amounted 
to a sum as large as the present value of the island. 

Minuit was active, energetic, friendly and honorable. His gov- 
ernment, despotic in theory, was far from being so in practice. He 
permitted a good degree of political freedom, and complete religious 
liberty. At this time there were among the inhabitants of New 
Amsterdam Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Jews, Huguenots, and 
Walloons, the latter being a French speaking people of the Re- 
formed Church from that part of the Netherlands now known as 
Belgium. The Walloons first fled to the Netherlands for protection. 
Later many of these people and the Huguenots were among the 
first settlers in this country. It is chiefly due to Minuit that New 
York has always enjoyed a large degree of religious freedom. 

While Boston and Philadelphia were English towns. New York 
from its earliest days was a cosmopolitan city. Eighteen languages 
were spoken there in colonial times. Now there are sixty-six 
languages and dialects spoken in the city, and twenty-nine in one 
school district on the East Side of the city. 

The city was christened New Amsterdam early in Minuit's time. 
The island took its name from that of a tribe of Indians living upon 
it. The name is said to mean "place of the w^hirlpool" and to refer 
to the boiling waters of Hell Gate in the East River. 

It was in Alinuit's time that people began to come to New York 
from all parts of the world, and this was in a very large degree 
due to his liberality. He gave all comers a cordial welcome and 
placed on an equal footing all who would take the oath of allegiance. 
The religious toleration that has always distinguished New York 
had its beginning with Alinuit. 

In 1612 or 1613 Captain Ilendrick Christiaensen, the first agent 



lo EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

of the West India Company, had built a redoubt and four small 
houses on the ground now occupied by No. 38 Broadway. Governor 
Minuit proceeded to build a fort on or near the same site. It was 
a very primitive affair being a blockhouse encircled by palisades of 
cedar, backed by earthworks. It was known as Fort Amsterdam 
and was built by an engineer by the name of Friedericksen. 

Minuit built for the Company a warehouse of stone, thatched 
with reeds, one corner of which was used as a store from which 
the people obtained their supplies, and where the Indians sold their 
beaver skins and purchased liquors. He also built a brewery, a 
bakery, and a horse mill, the loft of the latter being used for religious 
purposes. The first regularly ordained minister of the colony was 
Reverend Jonas Michaelius. 

Along the bank of the East River, to the east of Fort Amster- 
dam, was a row of about thirty one-story log houses with bark 
roofs and wooden chimneys. Nearly all of the two hundred people 
then living in New Amsterdam occvipied these houses. These cot- 
tages were all built on the west side of the street so as to face the 
river. This was the beginning of what is now^ known as Pearl 
street, the oldest street in the city. Since that time three other 
streets have been laid out between it and the river, all on made 
land. 

Speaking of the early days in New York Fiske says: "Near the 
site of Canal street, the forest resounded nightl}- with the growl of 
bears, the wailing of panthers, the yelps of wolves, while serpents 
lurked in the dense underbrush." 

The relations between Minuit, and Bradford of Plymouth, were 
friendly, though the latter could not forego giving expression to 
his belief that the Dutch were on English territory, and where they 
had no right to be. In these early days the Dutch, English, French, 
Swedes, and Spaniards laid claim to territory on very frail 
grounds. If they had made a landing, that was quite sufficient, 
and landing at one place seemed sufficient reason for claiming a 



NEW NETHERLAND H 

wide extent of territory. Even seeing the coast was regarded by 
some as constituting a valid claim to the country. It necessarily 
followed that there were many conflicting and overlapping claims. 
The English claimed the territory occupied by the Dutch on the 
flimsiest of grounds. Freneau expressed the matter very wittily 
as follows : 

"The soil they demanded, or threatened their worst, 
Insisting that Cabot had looked at it first." 

,Minuit was recalled in 1632, being accused of treating the col- 
onists too liberally and permitting them to encroach upon the 
Company's profits. He had also lost favor because of a shipbuild- 
ing scheme in which he became interested and into which he had 
put some of the Company's money. In 1631 two Belgian ship- 
builders visited Manhattan and proposed utilizing the fine timber 
of the colony in building an immense ship. Minuit encouraged 
them and they built a ship of eight hundred tons burden, capable of 
mounting thirty guns. It was one of the largest vessels of the 
time and was called the Nczv Netherland. Not for two hundred years 
was another vessel as large built in this country. There was 
really no need of a vessel of that size. The cost proved to be 
much greater than was anticipated and there was much fault found 
when the bills were presented. This led to a rigid investigation of 
the affairs of the Company by the States General resulting in Min- 
uit's recall. He wished to develop the colony ; the Company wished 
it to remain wholly dependent. During the governorship of Minuit 
the country was not settled as rapidly as the Company desired, so it 
offered certain special privileges to any of its directors or stock- 
holders who within four years would establish a colony of not 
less than fifty persons over fifteen years of age. Those who took 
advantage of this offer were known as patroons. The story of 
this movement will form a chapter by itself. 



12 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Wouter Van Twiller 
1633-1637 

Van Twiller, a clerk in the office of the West India Company, 
at Amsterdam, had made two voyages to America in the interest 
of the Company before he was appointed governor. He married 
a niece of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, one of the Directors of the 
Company, and the most powerful and influential of the patroons. 
\'an Twiller's appointment was no doubt due to the influence of 
\"an Rensselaer, as the latter wished for governor one who was 
attached to his interests. 

Van Twiller was a shrewd trader, but he had no practical knowl- 
edge of government. His good nature was about his only qualifi- 
cation for office. He was narrow-minded, irresolute, slow in 
thought and action, and woefully lacking in judgment of men. 
Though stubborn he was easily influenced by stronger minds. He 
was possessed of a petty spirit, his morals were questionable, and 
he was unduly fond of good living. 

In personal appearance Yan Twiller was far from attractive, 
being short and exceedingly stout, with sandy hair and small blue 
eyes. While Irving's descriptions are not usually to be taken very 
seriously he was not so very far wrong when he said W^outer \''an 
Twiller was " exactly five feet six inches in height and six feet five 
inches in circumference." 

A"an Twiller brought one hundred and four soldiers with him, 
the first to be sent here by the Dutch. There also came with him 
the second minister of the colony. Dominie Bogardus, a man who 
was destined to be an important factor in the afifairs of Xew 
Amsterdam. He was a man of striking appearance, and intel- 
lectually and morally greatly the superior of \'an Twiller, though 
not without faults. He had a hot temper, and like Van Twiller 
was undulv fond of high living. He was fearless in the perform- 
ance of his duty and never spared the shortcomings of others, as 



NEW NETHERLAND 13 

both Van Twiller and his successor Kieft learned to their dis- 
comfiture. 

Bogardus was not satisfied to preach in the loft of the horse 
mill as his predecessor had done, so in 1633 the Company built a 
church for him on Pearl street, about half way between Whitehall 
and Broad streets. It was a plain wooden structure, not greatly 
unlike an ordinary barn of the present day, but it was satisfactory 
to those who used it. In 1642 a stone church was erected within 
the walls of the fort. 

The Dutch interested themselves in schools at a very early day. 
Their interest in public schools is shown on nearly every page of 
their records. Adam Roelantsen, the first schoolmaster, came to 
New Amsterdam with Van Twiller. He lived on the north side 
of what is now Stone street. By the time of Stuyvesant schools 
were established in nearly every town and village. 

In return for the special privileges given the patroons they were 
required among other things to employ a schoolmaster for the 
benefit of their people. When the English obtained control they 
manifested but little interest in education, but the Dutch continued 
to maintain their schools at their own expense. In 1637 they ob- 
tained a special charter from the English government permitting 
them to erect churches and schoolhouses. Often the same building 
served as church and schoolhouse. 

Van Twiller was constantly engaged in bickerings with the 
English, and had some trouble with the patroons, but kept on good 
terms with most of the settlers, and like his predecessor lived 
peaceably with the Indians. 

He completed in his shiftless manner the fort which Minuit had 
left unfinished. The fort was three hundred feet long and two 
hundred and fifty feet wide, built in the form of a quadrangle with 
bastions at the angles. The bastion at the north-west corner was 
faced with stone, but all the rest of the walls were mere banks of 
earth, and without ditches. Within the fort were built barracks. 



14 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 




a guard house, public offices, and for the governor, a substantial 
brick house, which at that time was by far the best house in the 
colony. 

Van Twiller tilled the largest of the Company's farms on his own 
account and used the slaves belonging to the Company for that 
purpose. He appropriated another of the Company's farms for a 

tobacco plantation. The others he 
either neglected or allowed to be 
used without compensation by men 
no more honest than himself. 

About 1636 Van Twiller gave a 
farm of sixty-two acres on the west 
side of the island to one of the colo- 
nists named Jans. The farm was 
between Broadway and the Hudson 
River, and north of Warren street. 
Jans died soon after, leaving the 
farm to his widow, who later mar- 
ried Dominie Rogardus, after which 
time the place was known as the "Dominie's Bouwerie." After the 
death of Bogardus the property passed into the possession of Colonel 
Lovelace, and finally became a part of what was known as the 
"King's Farm." In 1703 the land was given to Trinity Church by 
Queen Anne. What was then a farm is now in the heart of a great 
city and a large part of it is still owned by Trinity, wiiich derives a 
princely revenue from it that it uses for many beneficent purposes. 
Bogardus w^as a resolute and capable man. From the first he 
was a leader in the afifairs of New Amsterdam. His marriage with 
the wealthy widow Annetje Jans added to his importance and 
influence. He was constantly at odds wnth Van Twiller, and later 
engaged in a bitter controversy with Kieft. 

On one of the farms belonging to the Company Van Twiller 
built a country house, a barn, boathouse, brewery, and houses for 



A City Tavern 

B Foit 

C Whaif 

D Buiiul Place 



MAP OF NEW YORK IN 1642 



NEW NETHERLAND 15 

laborers, all this for his own use, but with the Company's money. 
He bought from the Indians the island now known as Governor's 
Island, several islands in the East River, as well as considerable land 
elsewhere. He was finally removed from office charged with divert- 
ing the money of the Company to his own use. It was certainly a 
suspicious circumstance that a man of little means and a small salary 
should in a comparatively short time become the wealthiest man in 
the colony. He remained in the province many years after his 
removal from office, and died in Holland in 1657. 

William Kieft 
1637-1647 

In William Kieft the Company made another sorry choice for 
governor, for he was quite without talent for managing men, the 
qualification desirable beyond all others. He was a small, fussy, 
bristling, avaricious man, but industrious and strictly temperate. 
His education was limited and his egotism unbounded. He knew 
nothing whatever of government. With the aiTairs of the province 
in the hands of one possessed of almost unlimited authority, and so 
poorly equipped for the office of governor as was Kieft, it was almost 
certain that there would be continual trouble. 

Kieft assumed office with the air of one who did not intend 
either to seek or to take advice ; one who would not tolerate any 
interference with his plans. Being allowed to fix the number of his 
Councilors he appointed one, whom he allowed one vote, while he 
claimed two votes for himself. In this matter, however, Kieft did 
not differ from the other Dutch governors so far as the principles 
involved were concerned. The only difference was in the matter 
of details. They all ruled arbitrarily. 

Kieft found the affairs of the colony in a bad way. Van Twiller 
had used whatever energy he possessed in looking after his own 
affairs rather than those of the Company. The fort was almost in 



i6 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



ruins, and the church was but little better off, the condition of the 
latter no doubt being due to the quarrels between Van Twiller and 
Bogardus. Smugglers were numerous and bold. Guns, ammuni- 
tion, and liquors were being sold to the Indians in violation of law. 
All these evils Kieft proceeded to right with a strong hand. He 
was as positive as Van Twiller was doubtful, and as active as Van 
Twiller was phlegmatic. He issued a great number of proclama- 
tions, threatening with death any one who sold arms to the Indians. 




FIRbi Llli U-VLL, L!l U.r IX 1642 

He ordered all the sailors to be on board their vessels by nightfall. 
He forbade any one to leave the island without a passport, directed 
the mode of culture for tobacco, determined the hours when men 
should begin and end their work, and when they should go to bed. 
He forbade the sale of liquor at retail except "wine in moderate 
quantities." In short as Fiske says, "If proclamations could reform 
society, the waspish and wiry little governor would have had the 
millennium in full operation within a twelvemonth." 



NEW NETHERLAND 17 

Kieft was hypocritical, self-important, venomous toward his 
opponents, lacking in tenacity of purpose, sensitive to criticism, 
and hated and despised by all classes of citizens. He was such a 
blusterer, and his anger was so easily and so frequently aroused 
that he came to be known as "William the Testy." 

In the fourth year of Kieft's rule he conceived the idea of hold- 
ing two annual fairs, one in October for the display of fine cattle, 
and the other in Xovember for the exhibition of hogs. These fairs 
were held before the fort in the open space that was afterward 
known as "Bowling Green." Near by he built a large stone tavern 
to accommodate the people who came from a distance. This was 
afterward used as the first City Hall, or the Stadt Huys, as the 
Dutch called it. At one time a school was kept in this building. 
It was here that the articles of capitulation were signed when the 
Dutch surrendered to the English ; here that the first admiralty 
court was held in 1668. 

The patroon system had not been very efi^ective in bringing 
colonists to the country, so the Company offered to carry to New 
Amsterdam free of charge any farmer who wished to emigrate, and 
to furnish him with as much land as he could properly cultivate, 
also to build him a house and a barn, give him horses, cows, pigs, 
and the necessary farming implements. In return the farmer was to 
pay an annual rent of two hundred dollars for six years, at the 
expiration of which time the farm and all the increase in stock 
became his on condition of his signing a pledge to submit to the 
authority of the officers appointed by the West India Company. 
The Company agreed to keep the fort and public buildings in repair, 
and to furnish ministers, schoolmasters, and negro slaves. 

The Indian warfare was by far the most important event during 
the administration of Kieft. His predecessors had avoided this 
trouble, and Kieft has been greatly, and no doubt justly, blamed 
for not succeeding equally well, but we ought not to forget that the 
situation was a delicate and somewhat difficult one. The Dutch 



i8 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



had dealings with two great Indian confederacies that were engaged 
in constant and deadly warfare with each other, and it was no easy 
matter to keep from becoming involved with one party or the other. 
Still both Minuit and Van Twiller had done so. At Albany the 
Dutch were closely related through trade with the great Iroquois 







KitA, 



'.'■iii^' 








governor's house and church within the fort 



nation, while at New Amsterdam and along the lower Hudson theii 
relations were with the Algonquins. 

It would take altogether too much space to give an account of 
the wars with the Indians during Kieft's administration, wars that 
seem to have been avoidable. There is evidence that Kieft sought 
rather than avoided war. He first attempted to tax the Indians, 
asking them to furnish furs, corn, and wampum, to help pay for 
repairing the fort. This the Indians refused to do as the fort was 
not for their protection. Kieft punished the Indians severely for 
comparatively slight offences. An Indian stole a pig from a farm 



NEW NETHERLAND iq 

on Staten Island, and the Governor sent a party of soldiers to the 
tribe to which the offender belonged, with the result of killing ten 
of the Indians, not one of whom had committed any offence. 

The' Alohawks came down from the north and attacked one of 
the Algonquin tribes. The Algonquins fled in terror, some of them 
going to Pavonia, while others crossed to Manhattan and occupied 
the fields near the present Grand Street ferry. They asked pro- 
tection from the Dutch, who were unable to give it because of a 
treaty with the Iroquois in which it was agreed that the Dutch 
should not interfere in the war between the Iroquois and Algon- 
quins. Here was an opportunity to act as a mediator with a chance 
of winning the aff'ections of both nations ; but instead of this Kieft. 
while pleading his treaty obligations as a reason for not aiding 
the Algonquins, in violation of this very treaty sent a party of 
soldiers to attack a friendly tribe. It w^as a dastardly act. The 
soldiers passed over to the New Jersey shore and murdered — for it 
was murder and not warfare — more than a hundred of the unoffend- 
ing and unsuspecting Algonquins. They were at peace with the 
Dutch and had given no offence. They had no thought of being 
attacked by them and had made no provision for defence. They 
were shot down in a night attack, offering almost no resistance. 
The soldiers murdered men, women, and children indiscriminately. 
The next night forty more were killed at Corlear's Hook, not even 
infants being spared. It is one of the most shameful chapters in 
our early history. Kieft seems to have thought it a cheap way of 
getting possession of the lands of the Indians, but such did not 
prove to be the case. 

It should be said that the Dutch settlers did not approve of 
Kieft's action. Dominie Bogardus and other influential men pro- 
tested most vigorously, but ineffectively, against the expeditions. 
The act was Kieft's, but the suffering that followed came home to 
the whole colony. Eleven Algonquin tribes made common cause 
against the Dutch. Men were shot as they worked in the fields ; 



20 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

buildings were burned and crops destroyed ; women and children 
were made captive and carried away. The Dutch fitted out expedi- 
tions to attack Indian towns. This went on for two years or 
more, till both Indians and colonists were worn out. More than a 
thousand Indians were killed, and there were scarcely more than a 
hundred white men left on Manhattan Island. The population of 
the whole colony had shrunk from three thousand to one thousand. 
This was the outcome of Kieft's Indian policy. He could not escape 
criticism for nearly all the settlers were opposed to his management, 
but he, not they, had the power to determine what should be done. 

It was largely because of the disastrous Indian wars during 
Kieft's administration that the Dutch were in no condition to resist 
the forces of the Duke of York in 1664. 

Dominie Bogardus from his pulpit made bitter attacks upon 
Kieft, charging him with murder, covetousness, and gross excesses. 
For many months Kieft not only refused to enter the church, but 
tried to induce others to take the same course. He allowed the 
drums to be beaten in the fort during the hours of service in the 
church, and had cannons fired while Bogardus was preaching. 
Kieft summoned Bogardus to appear before the Council to answer 
charges. This led to a very bitter controversy between the two 
men, btU Bogardus never obeyed the summons, and nothing came 
from the charges. 

The people made so many and so bitter ccMuplaints to the home 
government against Kieft that he was finally recalled. When he 
returned to Holland Bogardus took passage on the same ship for the 
purpose of preferring charges against him, but the vessel was 
wrecked and both Bogardus and Kieft were drowned. 

Fort Amsterdam was on the land now enclosed by Bowling 
Green. Whitehall, Bridge, and State streets. It bore different 
names at different times, and these names are historical. From 
1614 to 1626 it was known as Fort Manhattan, but during the time 
of the Dutch governors, that is, from 1626 to 1664, it was called 



NEW NETHERLAND 21 

Fort Amsterdam. AMien the English captured the city they called 
the fort, in honor of their king's brother, the Duke of York, after- 
wards James II., Fort James, a name which it bore till 1673,. when 
the Dutch recaptured the city and instead of restoring the old Dutch 
name they called it Fort \Mllem Hendrik in honor of their Stadt- 
holder, afterwards William III. of England. The following year 
the city passed again into the hands of the English and the fort had 
a succession of names in honor of various British sovereigns, James, 
William Henry, Anne, and George being the successive names it bore. 

The fort was removed about 1788 to make room for a residence 
which was to be erected for the President of the United States. 
Before this residence was completed the capital of the country was 
removed to Philadelphia, and the house was used for some years as 
the residence of the governor of the State. Later it was used for 
the New York Custom House. 

At an early day two main roads were laid out in New Amster- 
dam, one leading from the fort north through Broadway to Chatham 
Square, thence along the present Bowery through the interior of 
the Island. The other also began near the fort, and led northward 
to the ferry which was situated at the site of the present Peck Slip. 
This ferry was probably established as early as 1642. The first 
ferryman was Cornelius Dircksen. He carried passengers for three 
stivers (a stiver is a Dutch coin worth about two cents). It took 
about an hour to make the passage. 

Peter Stuyvesant 
I 647- I 664 

Peter Stuyvesant was the last and by far the most capable of 
tlie Dutch governors of New Xetherland. He was the son of a 
clergyman, was well educated, and quite proficient in Latin, of which 
accomplishment he was very vain. He chose the profession of arms 
in his youth and had long been in the service of the West India 
Company. He had shown much executive ability while serving 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



as director of the Company at one of its stations. He lost a leg 
in an attack on the Portuguese and on that account returned to 
Holland for treatment and while there was appointed governor 
of New Amsterdam. He was not given as large powers as were 
granted to his predecessor, but it is possible notwithstanding that 

he exercised even greater, for all the 
Dutch governors were little less than 
autocrats. While the governors had 
associated with them a Council and 
various other officials with whom they 
were expected to cooperate, they all 
acted with perfect independence save on 
rare occasions, and this was the chief 
reason wh}- they were at odds with the 
settlers a great part of the time. 

In entering upon his duties Stuyve- 
sant said to the people, "I shall govern 
you as a father his children, for the 
advantage of the chartered ^^^est India 
Company, and these burghers, and this 
land." This was not the language of 
one who expected to be controlled by public opinion. Stuyvesant 
was a masterful personality, and he held as strongly to his right to 
rule arbitrarily as did Kicft, though he made a much better ruler 
because he was both a better and an abler man. Irving describes 
Stuyvesant as "a valiant, weather-beaten, mettlesome, obstinate, 
leathern-sided, kind-hearted old governor." 

It was proposed that the Council should give Kieft the customary 
vote of thanks for his official conduct, as he turned the government 
over to his successor ; but two of th& members, IMelyn and Kuyter, 
the two who had been most active in bringing about the recall of 
Kieft, refused to vote in favor of this, saying that they had no cause 
to thank him and w^ould not do so. Later these men presented a 




PETER STUYVESANT 



NEW NETHERLAND 23 

petition asking for a judicial inquiry into the policy and behavior 
of Kieft. This Stuyvesant refused to grant, possibly thinking that 
to do so would establish a precedent that might some time prove 
awkward in his own administration. In refusing this petition he said 
it was "treason to petition against a magistrate, whether there was 
cause or not." Then Kieft, finding that he had a sympathizer in 
Stuyvesant. demanded that Melyn and Kuyter be summoned to 
show cause why they should not be banished as "pestilent and sedi- 
tious persons." 

Stuyvesant granted the request and the accused were ordered to 
reply within forty-eight hours. Though these men brought abun- 
dant evidence to sustain their charges against Kieft, they were con- 
victed. Their trial was a mere formality. No doubt Stuyvesant had 
determined in advance that they should be punished. Melyn was 
sentenced to pay a fine of three hundred guilders and be banished 
from the colony for seven years. Kuyter's sentence was three 
years' banishment and a fine of one hundred and fifty guilders. 
Stuyvesant forbade either of them to appeal to the home govern- 
ment, saying, "Were I persuaded that you would bring this matter 
before their High Mightinesses I would have you hanged from the 
highest tree in New Netherland." Stuyvesant wished to have 
]\Ielyn hanged for the offence he had already committed, but he did 
not quite dare to go to that length, arbitrary and autocratic as he 
was. 

Speaking of appealing to the home government for any redress 
at any time, Stuyvesant said, "If any one during my administration 
shall appeal I will make him a foot shorter and send the pieces to 
Holland that he may appeal in that way." These things show what 
an absolute despot Stuyvesant was, and yet though his was an iron 
rule he made in the main a pretty good governor for those times. 

Notwithstanding the threats and commands of Stuyvesant, 
Melyn and Kuyter sailed for Holland on the same ship with Kieft 
and Bogardus with the purpose of appealing to the home govern- 



24 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



ment. As has already been stated, the vessel was wrecked. While 
Kieft, Bofjardiis, and most of the passengers were drowned, Melyn 
and Kuyter escaped. In the presence of death Kieft confessed that 
he had wronged these men and asked to be forgiven. 

Melyn and Kuyter spent several days in dragging the shallow 
waters where the ship was wrecked, and finally succeeded in recov- 




STUYVESANTS HOUSE AT WHITEHALL, ERECTED 165 



ering some of their most important papers. W ith these they pro- 
ceeded to Holland, where they completely justified their action, and 
Melyn returned to New Amsterdam with safe-conduct from the 
States General and also a writ of mandamus citing the Director to 
appear at The Hague in person or by attorney to defend himself as 
to the charges preferred against him. It hajiiicned that the people 
were assembled in church when Melyn landed at New Amsterdam, 
so he had the intense satisfaction of reading the judgiuent and 
mandamus to the whole assemblage. Stuvvesant was stung and 



NEW NETHERLAND 



25 



humiliated. He refused to have any communication whatever with 
^Nlehn and declared that he would obey the mandamus by sending 
his attorney to speak for him. Nothing further seems to have been 
done with the matter. 

Under Kieft New Amsterdam was a feeble town constantly 
harried by the Indians, but under Stuyvesant it became firmly 
established and orderlw The iron governor fairlv rivalled Kieft in 




STUYVESANT S HOUSE IN THE BOWERY 



the matter of proclamations, but they were more sensible and far 
more effective. 

There had been religious toleration in New Amsterdam till the 
time of Stuyvesant. He was positive and obstinate, and being a 
member of the Dutch Reformed Church, he would recognize no 
other. He persecuted the Lutherans from Holland, and the Bap- 
tists and Quakers from New England. The record of his acts in 
this matter does not furnish pleasant reading. He was so severe, 
so inhuman in fact, that he received a sharp rebuke from the 



26 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Amsterdam Chamber. A letter from it closes as follows : "The 
consciences of men ought to be free and unshackled, so long as 
they continue moderate, peaceable, inoffensive, and not hostile to the 
government. Such have been th.e maxims of prudence and tolera- 
tion by which the magistrates of this city have been governed ; and 
the consequences have been that the oppressed and persecuted from 
every country iiave found among us an asylum from distress. Fol- 
low in the same steps and you will be blest." 

In the early part of his administration Stuyvesant had very little 
trouble with the Indians, as he always treated them justly and kindly, 
but if you have on the one hand savages, and on the other a popula- 
tion containing some dishonest, some foolish, some cruel, and some 
unprincipled persons, no ruler will always be able to prevent a col- 
lision. There had been peace with the Indians for ten years when, 
by a gross outrage on their part the whites again brought upon 
themselves all the horrors of an Indian war. While Stuyvesant was 
absent on an expedition against the Swedes, who, having settled on 
the Delaware, were accused of being upon Dutch territory, one 
Hendrick V^an Duyck shot and killed a squaw whom he caught steal- 
ing his peaches. This most foolish and wicked act was followed by a 
terrible retribution. The men of the tribe to which the murdered 
w^oman belonged roused all the river Indians and entered the town 
with a force of two thousand warriors. The officials held a parley 
with the sachems and finally induced the Indians to enter their 
canoes and go over to Governor's Island ; the savages, however, 
returned in the night and killed Van Duyck, as well as one of his 
neighbors who came to his defence. The burghers were quickly 
aroused and succeeded in driving off the Indians, who then passed 
over to the New Jersey shore. In the struggle five of the whites 
and three of the Indians were killed. 

The savages were now thoroughly aroused. They burned 
Hoboken and Pavonia, massacring the inhabitants, and then passed 
over to Staten Island and ravaged it. In three days one hundred 



NEW NETHERLAND 



27 



of the Dutch were killed, one hundred and fifty taken prisoners, 
and more than three hundred left without homes, w^iile grain and 
stock were generally destroyed. Such was the price paid for the 
extreme folly and wickedness of one man. 

At this time Stuyvesant returned. It w'ould have been easy for 
him to have precipitated a long and bloody Indian war. for there 
was ample justification for meting out 
severe punishment ; but Stuyvesant rec- 
ognized that while the Indians deserved 
punishment, they were not the aggress- 
ors, and also that it was not possible to 
punish the Indians except at the cost of 
the lives of many of the whites, so while 
he prepared for war he sought for peace 
and obtained it. Later he was engaged 
m a war with the Esopus Indians in 
which he seeius to have been guilty of 
unpardonable atrocities, but it is diffictilt 
to fully understand at this late day all 
the conditions surrounding that unfor- 
tunate affair. 

New Amsterdam was incorporated 
as a city during Stuyvesant's admin- 
istration. The charter was proclaimed 
to the inhabitants on the 2d of Feb- 
ruary, 1653. At that time the city had about fifteen hundred inhab- 
itants. 

Stuyvesant had considerable trouble with the patroons, as did the 
other Dutch governors. Van Rensselaer wished to be wholly inde- 
pendent of the Governor, and there was much trouble between him 
and Stuyvesant. An appeal was made to the home government and 
Stuyvesant was sustained on every point at issue. 

The English had never abandoned their claim to the territory. 




A DUTCH WINDMILL 



28 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



occupied by the Dutch, but there had been no opportune time to 
enforce it. They could well afford to wait, as the population of the 
English colonies was increasing much more rapidly than that of 
the Dutch. By the time of Stuyvesant the English greatly out- 
numbered the Dutch in this countrw Trained soldier as he was 




NEW AMSTERDAM IN 1656 



Stuyvesant saw what this portended and was continually urging the 
home govcrnmer.t to send him men and means to fortify New Am- 
sterdam, but without avail. 

In 1652 war broke out between luiglaml and the Dutch Repub- 
lic. The ])eople of New Amsterdam were alarmed, and with good 
reason. They repaired the fort and built a wall across the lower 
end of the island to protect themselves from an attack on the north 
bv the Indians, or the English from the Xcw England colonies. No 
such attack was ever made and the provision for defence proved 
unnecessarv, but the event is of interest in that it gave name to one 
of the most noted streets in the world, of which some account will 
be given later. 



NEW NETHERLAND 



29 



THE ENGLISH CAPTURE NEW AMSTERDAM 

While the expected attack was not made, one was made most 
unexpectedly at another time, a time when England and Holland 
were at peace. The English King granted his brother, the Duke 







CANAL IN BROAD STREET IN 1659 



of York and Albany, a patent covering Long Island and the main- 
land from the Connecticut to the Delaware. This included the 
whole of the Dutch possessions in America. 

The Duke wished to take possession of this territory, but feared 
he might not be able to do so if it was known that he was to make 
the attempt, so an expedition consisting of four vessels and five 
hundred soldiers, under the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls, 
was fitted out secretly in order that the Dutch might be taken bv 



.30 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



surprise. The enterprise was a complete success. In August, 1664, 
the fleet reached the lower New York Bay and seized the block-house 
on Staten Island. Stuyvesant was wholly unprepared to defend 
New Amsterdaiu. He had only one hundred and fifty regular sol- 
diers, and was not sure of the loyalty of the militia, but had he 
been, tliey numbered only two hundred and fifty, and lacked mili- 




ST. MARK S CHURCH 



tary training and discipline. Many of the people, many of the 
members of the militia even, were English and would welcome 
English rule. 

The fleet carried nearly one hundred cannon and the fort 
mounted but twenty ; still, great as were the odds against him, the 
brave and obstinate old soldier prepared for defence, though he had 
very little support. Nicolls not only had an overwhelming force, 
but he ofifered the very mildest terms of surrender. In a letter to 
Stuyvesant Nicolls said, "I am further commanded to assure you, 
and every respective inhabitant of the Dutch nation that his Majesty 
being tender of the efifusion of Christian blood, doth by these 
presents, confirm and secure to every man his estate, life and liberty, 
who shall readily submit to his government." This letter Stuy- 



NEW NETHERLAND 



31 



vesant refused to show to the people, fearing its effect upon them, 
and when they insisted upon seeing the letter he tore it in pieces; 
but in some way its contents became known and nearly a hundred of 
the leading men of the town, including Stuyvesant's own son, signed 
a petition begging him to accept the terms offered. While Stuy- 
vesant declared that he "would rather be carried out dead than 
surrender." there was nothing else for him to do unless he attempted 
the defence alone, so reluctantly and sadly he signed the articles of 



In 0%isVanItIie3 turlett 

^ PETRUS STUYVESANT 

SateCaptainGencrd^GovernorinChiefofAinsterrfaml 
InNcwNrfherlandnow caJlcd.NeWiVork 
Ani£KeDute>iWeainJ;alsldnd3J)ie([AD.l67'j 
Aged 80 ye&rs. 



TOMB OF PETER STUYVESANT 



capitulation. In taking possession. of the town Nicolls proclaimed 
that citizens of every race and creed should be secure in person, 
property, and religion. 

Some time after his surrender Stuy vesant was summoned to Hol- 
land to justify his course in giving up the city. This he did most 
completely, after which he returned and passed the remainder of his 
days in the town he loved so well. For many years his home was 
one of the landmarks of the city. His "bouwerie" occupied the 
territory now bounded by Sixth and Seventeenth streets, Fourth 
Avenue, and East River. His house was near the corner of Third 
Avenue and Twelfth street. He was verv fond of fruits and 



32 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

flowers and found great pleasure in his garden. A pear tree which 
he planted in 1667 stood near the corner of Third Avenue and 
Twelfth street for two hundred years. The spot is now marked by 
a bronze tablet. 

Stuyvesant died in 1672 at the age of eighty, and was buried 
beneath the chapel which he had built on his farm. His widow lived 
in the old mansion till her death in 1687. ^^'^ ^^^^ ^'^'i^^ ^^^^ provided 
for founding St. Mark's Church, which is the oldest church in the 
city, thirty years older than Trinity. It stood on what was a part 
of the Stuyvesant farm. The present edifice, built in 1802, stands 
on the same site. A tablet in the east wall marks the final resting 
place of the greatest of the Dutch governors. 



THE PATROONS 

In 1629 the Assembly of Nineteen proposed, and the States 
General ratified, an act providing that any director or stockholder 
of the Dutch West India Company who within four years should 
found a colony of not less than fifty persons upward of fifteen years 
of age, might select a tract of land with a frontage of sixteen miles 
on one side, or eight miles on each side of any navigable stream in 
New Netherland, the estate to extend as far back from the river as 
the owner cared to explore. The Island of Manhattan was ex- 
cluded from the provisions of this ofifer. The owners of these great 
estates were called patroons and their estates were known as 
manors. The patroons were required to satisfy the Indians for the 
land which they took possession of. This they were able to do at a 
very trifling expense to themselves. They were also required to 
maintain a minister and a schoolmaster for the benefit of their 
tenants. The West India Company reserved to itself the exclusive 
right to the fur trade, and imposed a duty of five per cent, upon 
all trade of any kind carried on by the patroons. 

The jnirpose of this system was to hasten the settlement of the 



NEW NETHERLAND 33 

country, but it had the opposite effect, as one would suppose might 
have been foreseen. The patroons were petty sovereigns exercising 
complete control over their tenants, who for a period of ten years 
were not allowed to leave their service, or to leave the estate 
without a written permit from the patroon. The tenants were prac- 
tically slaves to the estate for the period of time mentioned. 

Such settlers as emigrated at their own expense were to have as 
much land as they could properly cultivate and be exempt from all 
taxes for ten years ; but they were not permitted to have any voice 
in the government, nor were they allowed to engage in any kind 
of manufacturing or trade with the Indians for furs. These and 
many other arbitrary restrictions caused much ill feeling. Two 
hundred years later this system was the cause of an insurrection. 

The West India Company promised to protect the colonists 
against all enemies, to build a suitable fort on Manhattan Island, 
and to furnish as many slaves "as they conveniently could." 

This general scheme of colonization had in its provisions both 
good and evil. It provided for schools and churches and satisfied 
the Indians for their lands, but introduced slavery, monopoly in land, 
and aristocratic privileges. 

The patroons, with their great landed estates and almost abso- 
lute power, the arbitrary government of the manor lords — they made 
all the laws and appointed all the officials — constituted a practical re- 
introduction of the feudal system in a somewhat modified form ; it 
was trying in a new country, earl\- in the seventeenth century, a form 
of government that had died in Europe more than three hundred 
years before, after four hundred years of trial. It may have been 
of some immediate advantage, but it brought many evil consequences 
in its train. It is greatly to be wondered that the liberty-loving 
Dutch should have hit upon such a form of government for col- 
onies made up of their own people. It was one of the chief factors 
that operated to prevent the Dutch colonies from keeping pace in 
growth and development with those of the English on the north. 



34 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



which were much less favorably situated in regard to soil, climate, 
and facilities for trade and transportation. 

We must have some understanding of the great estates of the 
patroons and the relation of their owners to the government and 




VAN RENSSELAER MANOR HOUSE 

to the people of the colony if we are to comprehend fully an impor- 
tant period in the early history of our State. 

The most noted of the great manors was that of Kiliaen \'an 
Rensselaer. It included what now forms the counties of Albany 
and Rensselaer, together with a part of Columbia County. The 
tract began at the mouth of the Mohawk and extended twenty-four 
miles to the south and was forty-eight miles wide. It contained 
about seven hundred thousand acres. The cities of Cohoes, Troy. 
and Albany are within this territory. At a later date the family 



NEW NETHERLAND 



35 



came into the possession of Claverack, which was known as the 
Lower Manor. It contained sixty-two thousand acres and inckided 
the site of the present city of Hudson. The Van Rensselaer manor 
was the only one of these great estates that proved to be a real suc- 
cess. The first patroon was Kiliaen \'an Rensselaer, who never 
came to this country. The second patroon, Johannes Van Rensse- 
laer, died young, and like his predecessor never saw the estate. 
The third patroon, another Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, did come to this 
country, but died young and left no children. 

During the time of the first patroon the estate was managed by 
a cousin of the owner, Arent \^an Corlear, a very remarkable man. 
He was wonderfully successful in dealing with the Indians and was 
much beloved by the Mohawks, so much so that they ever afterward 
called the governors of the colony "Corlear." 

The first manor located was that of Samuel Godyn and Samuel 
Blommaert, who purchased two great tracts of land, one on the 
west shore of the Delaware Bay, and the other on the opposite shore 
including Cape May. They called their estate Swaaendeal. 

IMichael Pauw located a manor in New Jersey, including what is 
now Paulus Hook, Hoboken, and the adjoining country. He called 
the manor Pavonia. He afterward added Staten Island to his 
purchase. 

. Although the provisions of the act under which these great 
estates were secured excluded ^Manhattan Island from the territory 
open to occupation, Stuyvesant, Kip, and DeLancey located manors 
there. Lawrence had one on Long Island. Between Harlem River 
and Peekskill were the manors of Morris, DeLancey, Van Court- 
landt. and Philipse. The lower Philipse manor or patent included 
a large part of the present county of Westchester. The Van 
Courtlandt manor reached as far north as Anthony's Nose. Above 
Peekskill were the manors of Van Courtlandt, Livingston, Beek- 
man. Kip. Schuyler, and Van Rensselaer. It will be noted that 
some of these men had more than one manor. The Schuvlers occu- 



36 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

pied the country about Poughkecpsie. The territory of the Liv- 
ingstons extended from Rhinebeck to Catskill Station, now known 
as Greendale. 

The patroon system so discouraged indivicKial enterprise that 
it was mocHfied by a new charter granted in 1640, which somewhat 
curtailed the privileges and powers of the patroons and created a 
great number of smaller estates that were owned and controlled by 
persons known as "masters of estates." 

ANTI-RENT TROUBLES 

The patroons to a large extent evaded the intention of the char- 
ter of 1640 by selling land to their tenants under a form of deed 
that provided for a perpetual rent ; that is, the tenant never absolutely 
owned the land, though he and his heirs could occupy it as long as 
they paid the rent. The amount of the rent was not exorbitant, 
but the idea that there could never be real ownership of the land, 
and the possibility that improvements made might be wholly lost 
through a degree of adversity that would make the payment of rent 
temporarily impossible, was so repugnant to the occupants that re- 
peated but unsuccessful efforts were made to arrange with the pa- 
troons for absolute purchase. As time went on the feeling grew 
more and more intense and the friction between the tenants and the 
agents of the patroons more and more pronounced. In 1839 asso- 
ciations of farmers known as "anti-renters" were formed in several 
of the counties of the State. The purpose of these organizations 
was to attcm])t through concerted action to secure some form of 
relief. Failing in this, these people became so aroused that they 
resisted the ofificers of the law. One man whose actions had made 
him specially oft'ensive to the "anti-renters" was murdered at 
Grafton, Rensselaer County. The criminal was never discovered. 
The disturbances became so general over the infected territory 
that Governor Seward called the attention of the legislature to the 



NEW NETHERLAND 



37 



matter in his messages in 1841 and again in 1842. No effective 
action was taken and the disturbances grew more and more serious 
till in 1845 Governor Wright declared Delaware County to be in a 
state of insurrection. Several persons, tried for conspiracy and 
resistance to law. were convicted and sent to states prison. 

To this the "anti-renters" responded by organizing a political 
party favorable to what they regarded as being their interests. For 




KIP S HOUSE 



several years they elected about one-eighth of the members of the 
legislature. Upon the revision of the constitution of the State in 
1846 a clause was inserted abolishing all feudal tenures and forbid- 
ding the leasing of agricultural lands for a longer term, than twelve 
years. The same year Governor Wright, who was a candidate for 
reelection, w^as defeated by John Young, who was supported by the 
"anti-renters." Upon his accession to office Governor Young par- 
doned all who had been convicted because of any complicity in 
the anti-rent disturbances. The disturbances ceased soon after the 
election of Youna:. This whole matter illustrates most forciblv the 



38 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



fact that a wrong or unwise act is pretty sure to be followed by 
unpleasant consequences, though the day of reckoning may be post- 
poned for a long time. It was more than two hundred years from 
the establishment of the patroon system to the "anti-rent" war. 



A FEW INTERESTING FACTS 

In 1658, Jacob Kip, who had married the daughter of Dr. La 
Montague, a learned and aristocratic Huguenot who fled from 
France to escape religious persecution, was chosen by Kieft as the 
sole member of his council and secretary of the province. Kip 
owned a farm of one hundred and fifty acres on the East River in 
the locality now known as Kip's Bay, not far from Thirty-fifth 
street. For a short time Washington occupied this house as his 
headquarters. 

In 1656 it was ordered that all vacant lots should be improved, 
and that those who did not obey the order within nine months would 
have their lots confiscated. At that time the best city lots were 
worth fifty dollars. Houses rented at from 
fourteen to one hundred dollars a year. The 
population of the city at that time was about 
one thousand, a large part of it being slaves. 
In 1657 Stone street was paved with cobble 
stones, being the first street in the city to be 
paved. The gutter was in the middle of the 
street, and there were no sidewalks. 

In 1678 New York was granted the ex- 
clusive right to bolt flour and pack it for 
export. The flour trade soon grew to be 
very important. In 1694 six hundred of the 
nine hundred and thirty-eight buildings in the city were in one 
way or another connected with or dependent upon the trade in flour. 
The seal of the city contains a windmill, beavers, and flour bar- 




SEAL OF THE CITY 



NEW NETHERLAND 



39 



rels. This is very appropriate, for it was to secure beaver skins 
that the Dutch first came to Manhattan, the windmills furnished the 
first power, and the exclusive right to manufacture flour in the 
colony gave the first great impulse to the upbuilding of the city. 

When one remembers that in the lower part of the city of New 
York lots sometimes sell for hundreds of dollars per square foot, 
such items as the following are of in- 
terest. In 172 1 a house and lot on 
Wall street sold for $850, the lot be- 
ing 32 by 150 feet. The same year 
two lots on Broadway 50 by 160 feet 
sold for $293. 

The first mail route between New 
York and Boston was established on 
the first of January, 1673. There 
was one mail each way every month. 
A mounted postman carried letters, 
small parcels, and "divers bags" in 
his " portmantles." In these days 
of almost hourly mail between these 
cities it seems very strange to think 
of being able to send mail only once 
a month. While the postman was on 
his eastern trip there was kept in the 

rr r 1 V- 1 • 1 r- PILLORY 

orhce of the Colonial Secretary at 

New York a locked box in which mail was deposited for the next 
trip. When the postman came from Boston the mail which he 
brought was placed on a table at some cofi:"ee house, to be sorted 
over by each comer in search for his letters and parcels. 

At first there were no prisons in New Amsterdam. Ofi^enders 
were either confined in their own houses or at a reputable tavern. 
The pillory and the whipping post were in common use. The 
forms of punishment were often peculiar. A man who had stolen 




40 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

half a dozen cabbages confessed the offence and was compelled to 
stand in the pillory for several days, and that "the punishment might 
fit the crime," he stood with cabbages on his head. 



FUNERAL CUSTOMS 

That the funeral customs in New Amsterdam were quite differ- 
ent in the early days from what they are now is clearly shown b\" 
the records of the times. The following is from a church record 
which gives the account of a funeral of one who had been supported 
by the church and was buried at its expense. Among the items of 
expense are the following: "Two Half Vats of good beer. 6 bottles 
of rum, 5 gallons of Madeira wine. Tobacco, pipes, sugar." 
Surely those people who fear that the world is growing worse must 
find some comfort in such accounts. The enemies of Dominie 
Bogardus declared that he was often drunk both at church and 
elsewhere, and it is greatly to be feared that they were right about 
the matter. Ministers' salaries came in part from "excise" on wine, 
beer, and spirits. 

Deaths were announced by the tolling of the church bell. No 
one attended a funeral unless invited to do so. The funeral invitcr. 
who might be the schoolmaster, or the chorister, or the bell-ringer, 
or the grave-digger (sometimes the same person filled all these 
offices), attired in a full mourning suit of black, called on all the 
relatives and friends of the deceased and notified them of the death, 
and the day and hour of the funeral. From the death of a person 
to the time of the funeral it was the custom to have some one 
usually the intimate friends of the deceased, watch the dead body 
through the night. The watchers were liberally provided with 
food, liquor, pipes, and tobacco. 

Both men and women attended the funerals, but only the men 
followed the corpse to the grave. A Dutch funeral was a very 
expensive affair. The guests were furnished with liquor and 



NEW NETHERLAND 41 

tobacco, and the bearers were given gloves, scarfs, and mourning 
rings. The expense varied, of course, with the means of the family. 
It is said that the funeral of the first wife of Stephen Van Rensselaer 
cost twenty thousand dollars. All the tenants of the great estate 
were entertained for several days. Two thousand linen scarfs were 
given to those in attendance. 

AMUSEMENTS 

Dancing was one of the chief amusements of the early days, 
but only square dances were known. All dances closed at eleven 
o'clock. The refreshments consisted of bread and chocolate. 
Skating and riding were popular amusements. There were also 
theatres, and the following is the form with which the advertise- 
ments of theatres usually closed : "To begin at precisely Half an 
Hour after 6 o'clock and no person to be admitted behind the 
Scenes." 

There were a goodly number of holidays. New Year's being the 
most important. Making and receiving calls was the occupation 
of this day. Refreshments were served at every house, the good 
housewives having been at work for days in preparing for the occa- 
sion. The great number of calls made, and the fact that refresh- 
ments, including liquor, were served at every house, and a refusal to 
partake was regarded as an offence, resulted in many a headache the 
following morning. 



UNDER ENGLISH RULE 

The change from Dutch to Enghsh rule in New York sounded 
the death knell of French government in America because it was the 
first step toward uniting all the colonies along the Atlantic seaboard. 
They had common interests and common pursuits sufficient in extent 
to bind them together in opposition to the French ; this, combined 
with the attitude of the Iroquois Confederacy, made the end certain. 
It might be delayed, and was, but it could not be escaped. Had the 
Iroquois been the allies of the French instead of their enemies, it 
would have been Louis XIV of France instead of Charles II of 
England who would have taken New Amsterdam from the Dutch. 

The score or more of English colonial governors of New York 
was largely made up of men chosen from the destitute and unscru- 
pulous adherents of the English court ; men who obtained their 
appointment that they might enrich themselves at the ex])ense of 
the colony. There were, however, notable exceptions to this rule. 

Nicolls, the first English governor, came over with the fleet that 
captured New Amsterdam from the Dutch. He promised full 
religious liberty to all and agreed not to interfere in any way with 
the personal rights and liberties of any one. He ruled the city with 
tact and skill and became very pojiular with the people. He pro- 
vided for a government by a mayor, aldermen, and a sheriff, in- 
stead of the officers who had governed under the Dutch. The 
Englisli language was to be exclusively used in all civil affairs. 
The citv was rechristened New ^'ork in honor of the Duke of York. 
Nicolls wrote the Duke urging him to do something to promote the 
trade of the city, saying that it was at New York and not at Boston 
that the commerce of America must centre. 

42 



UNDER ENGLISH RULE 43 

Nicolls was kindly disposed and merciful. He lived in harmony 
with the inhabitants and at peace with the Indians. In 1666 he was 
succeeded by Francis Lovelace. At this time the New England col- 
onies had a population of forty thousand, while New York had 
only five or six thousand. Lovelace pursued the same general pol- 
icy that Nicolls had done and the colony prospered under his admin- 
istration. It was while he was governor that the post rovite between 
New York and Boston was established. Lovelace established a 
merchants' exchange near where Exchange street crosses Broad 
street. Meetings were held there every Friday morning. It was 
during the administration of Lovelace that the Dutch recaptured 
New York. They held it only about a year, it being restored to the 
English when peace was declared between England and Holland. 

Upon the restoration of the English rule in New York Sir Ed- 
mond Andros was appointed governor. He did much for the bet- 
terment of tlie city. He gave the inhabitants the sole right to bolt 
and export flour, that business being forbidden in all other parts of 
the colony. This contributed much to the rapid growth of the 
city. Andros also did much to make New York a clean town. He 
obliged every householder to put his refuse in barrels so that it 
could be carted away. He caused public wells to be sunk. This 
was the beginning of a public water supply for the city. He 
ordered old buildings to be torn down and new streets to be laid 
out and graded. Tanners were compelled to move beyond the city 
limits. He was finally recalled on account of the great number of 
complaints that were made against him because he would not allow 
the people to elect an assembly which should take part in the gov- 
ernment of the colony, but in this matter Andros was merely obey- 
ing the instructions of his royal master, the Duke of York. 

Andros w^as followed in 1682 by Thomas Dongan, the best and 
ablest of all the royal governors. He granted the colonists the 
long desired and often asked for privilege of choosing a General 
Assembly to act with the Governor and Council in administering 



44 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



the government. This Assembly inchided the governor with ten 
councilors of his own choosing, and eighteen representatives chosen 
by the people. It met for the first time on the 17th of October, 1683. 
Brodhead declares this meeting to be "a memorable day in the his- 
tory of N'cw York." It was the first time that the people had had 
any voice in the government. This assembly passed fourteen acts, 




BLOCK-HOUSE AND CITY GATE IX 1674 



all of which were approved by the governor. The nK)st important 
was known as "The Charter of Liberties and Privileges." It pro- 
vided that the colony should be governed by a Governor, a Council, 
and a General Assembly elected by the people, and that there should 
be a meeting of the Assembly at least as often as once in three years ; 
that the members of the Assembly should be elected by a majority 
vote ; that there should be entire freedom of conscience and religion ; 
that no taxes should be laid for an\- purpose whatever but by the 
act and consent of the governor, council, and assemblv. 



UNDER ENGLISH RULE 



45 



This charter was appr(.)ved by the Duke, but before it was dehv- 
ered the King died, and the Duke succeeded to the throne; his 
ideas as to how the colony should be governed materially changed, 
so the charter was never delivered, though the colony was governed 
in accordance with its provisions for several years. 

The first Assembly divided the colony into the following twelve 
counties : New York, Westchester, Ulster, Albanv, Dutchess, 




A DUTCH COTTAGE IN ibjc; 



Orange, Richmond, Kings, Queens, Suffolk, Duke, and Cornwall. 
Nearly all these names refer to some member of the Stuart family. 
Kings and Queens were named for Charles II and his Queen Alary; 
Dutchess was named in honor of the wife of the Duke of York, 
afterwards James II ; New York, Albany, and Ulster represented 
King James's title in English, Irish, and Scotch peerages ; Orange 
was named in honor of the Prince of Orange. 

Duke County was made up of Nantucket, Martha's \'incyard, and 



46 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

other territory not now belonging to the State of New York. Corn- 
wall was also made up of territory now belonging to other states. 
The boundaries of many of the other counties w'ere not the same 
then as now. 

Dongan cultivated friendly relations with the Iroquois and made 
them defenders of the northern frontier. In April, 1686, Dongan 
granted the city of New York a charter which is still the basis of 
its civic rights. 

When James became king he resolved to make himself the abso- 
lute master of the colonies. He united New York and New Jersey, 
recalled Dongan, and put all the colonies under Andros, who had a 
short rule, as \\'illiam of Orange soon came to the throne. The 
last of the Stuarts became an exile, and Andros was cast into jail 
in Boston. 

JACOB LEISLER 

It is impossible in this little volume to give a sketch of all the 
English colonial governors of New York, many of whom were men 
of no importance, whose rule was not marked by any events of 
far-reaching consequence. There were, however, some occurrences 
that every one should know about. Among these the brief rule of 
Leisler and his subsequent execution are of much interest. There 
had been a bitter strife in Great Britain between the Catholics and 
the Protestants, and to a considerable extent the feeling had ex- 
tended to the colonies. James II was suspected of being favorable 
to the Catholic cause, and the feeling against him became so strong 
that he finally fled to France, and W'illiam and ]^Iary, who favored 
the Protestants, succeeded to the throne. Wlien the news of this 
change of rulers reached the colonies the people of New England 
seized their governor and sent him back to England. The Governor 
of New York fled. Nicholson, the Lieutenant Governor, and the 
Council claimed that they should administer the government until 
the arrival of the new governor, and in this they were supported by 



UNDER ENGLISH RULE 



47 



all the former adherents of Governor Dongan. and most of the 
wealthier and better edncated people ; but those of more extreme 
views, particularly those who had been opposed to the existing admin- 
istration, claimed that the succession of William and Mary deposed 
all who were in power at that time, and that the people themselves 
must administer the government until the new governor came. All 
agreed that William and Alary were the lawful sovereigns, but those 
who held that the people were to govern themselves until the arrival 
of a governor sent out from Great Britain constituted a large major- 
ity of the inhabitants. 

Colonel Henry Sloughter was appointed governor in January, 
1689, but most unfortunately did not arrive in this country until the 
19th of March, 1691, leaving the colon}- in strife and turmoil for 
more than two years. Those who held that the people should rule 
until the arrival of the new governor made Jacob Leisler their 
leader. He was a merchant with large wealth for those times, well 
thought of, and through his marriage related to some of the most 
prominent families of the colony. He had come to this country 
thirty years before, was of German birth, honest, energetic, and 
possessed great force of character, though lacking in education, 
tact, and culture. He was, however, the popular hero of the hour. 

On the 2d of June, 1689, Leisler's party took possession of the 
fort, declaring their intention of holding it until the arrival of Gov- 
ernor Sloughter. This act led to the departure of Nicholson and the 
breaking up of his party. This, together with the non-arrival of 
Sloughter. made some form of organized government necessary, so 
a Committee of Safety, which represented the greater part of the 
community, conferred upon Leisler absolute power to carry on the 
government in accordance with his best judgment, and in the interest 
of William and Mary. On the i6th of August the Committee of 
Safety issued to Leisler a commission as commander-in-chief. It 
also ordered a popular election for the purpose of choosing a mayor, 
sheriflF, clerk, and members of the common council to carry on the 



48 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

government of the chy. J'lic election took place in October. .Ml 
the persons chosen were friends and adherents of Leisler. 

Though Leisler and his friends were in complete control there 
were two parties, and the feeling between them grew more and more 
bitter. The two factions were known as the "aristocratic" and the 
"pt)pular" parties. Leisler spoke of his oi)ponents as "grandees," 
"Papists," and "King James's men." The opposing party applied 
equally obnoxious names to the supporters of Leisler. The bitter- 
ness that existed did not find vent in words alone ; many unfortunate 
actions took place. Leisler drove some of his most bitter enemies 
out of the colony. 

A new phase of the question soon arose. In December, 1689, a 
messenger from the English government appeared in Boston bearing 
a communication addressed as follows : "To Francis Nicholson, 
Esq., or in his absence to such as, for the time being, takes care for 
preserving the peace and administering the laws in his ^lajesty's 
province of New' York." Both of the parties in the province 
claimed to be the party addressed, but the messenger delivered the 
missive to Leisler, who under its provisions assumed the title of 
Lieutenant (iovernor. His opponents started a riot in the streets 
and attempted to seize the person of Leisler, but were prevented 
by his friends. 

Leisler. under the sanction of his new title, ordered the arrest of 
Nicholls, I!ayard. and others on the charge of having committed high 
misdemeanors against his majesty's authority in the colony. I>ayard 
and Nicholls were arrested and thrown into prison, but the others 
escaped. On the i8th of January, 1690, Leisler called a Court of 
Oyer and Terminer to try these men for treason. Bayard was in 
prison, sick, and in danger of death, and so wrote a humble petition 
to Leisler, addressing him as "Lieutenant Governor," promising to 
make no future trouble, and humbly pleading for pardon and release. 
Because of such pleas these two men were not brought to trial, but 
thev were refused bail and kept in confinement until the arrival of 



UNDER ENGLISH RULE 



49 



the new governor, a period of more than a year. Leisler continued 
to issue warrants for the arrest of those whom he declared to be 
"malcontents," and soon there was no one in the colony who dared 
to oppose him. 

All things seemed to conspire to intensify the dissensions among 
the colonists. Not only did the new governor delay his arrival for 
more than two years, but when he left England with a fleet and 
troops he was so hindered in his passage that Major Richard 
Ingoldsby, who came as Lieutenant Governor, reached the city 
nearly two months before Sloughter arrived. 

Leisler refused to surrender the government to Ingoldsby be- 
cause the latter had nothing to show that he was in authority, all 
the papers relating to appointments being in the vessel with Slough- 
ter. This led to fresh dissensions, and when Sloughter finally 
arrived Leisler insisted upon the observance of unreasonable tech- 
nicalities and precautions before he would surrender the command. 

Governor Sloughter ordered the arrest of Leisler and eleven 
of his chief adherents. Bayard and Nicholls, who had been so long 
imprisoned, were made members of the Governor's Council. 

Leisler and his son-in-law were tried, convicted, and sentenced 
to death. The Governor was reluctant to approve the sentence and 
considered the question of referring the matter to the home gov- 
ernment, but Bayard and others who had suffered so much would 
not be satisfied with anything less than the death of Leisler. The 
Council urged the Governor to carry the sentence into effect, and 
the Assembly by a majority vote joined in the recommendation of the 
Council. The pressure brought to bear upon the Governor was very 
great and he finally signed the death warrants of Leisler and his 
son-in-law Milborne. It has been said that the enemies of Leisler 
made the Governor drunk and obtained his signature to the warrants 
while he was in that condition, but this statement may be doubted, 
though the Governor was a very intemperate man. 

The principal charges against Leisler and his friends were that 



50 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



they disrupted Nicholson's Council, imprisoned many innocent peo- 
ple, forced others to tiy from the colony, seized and forfeited the 
goods of their opponents, levied taxes without authority, raised 
forces and unlawfully held the fort against Ingoldsby, and refused 
to surrender to Sloughter. 

While Leisler had been the source of a great deal of trouble 
and had dealt very severely with his enemies, there is nothing in 
the history of the case to show that he was deserving of death and 
it is probable that the home government took this view, as only four 
years later the British parliament reversed the attainder for treason 
and restored Leisler's property to his heirs. Leisler and Milborne 
were the only persons ever executed within the territory of the 
state of New York for a political ofifence. 

IN 1697 

During the administration of (k)vernor Fletcher some progress 
was made in the development of the city, as is indicated by the 
following ordinances. In November, 1697, this enactment was made : 
"The Board taking into consideration the great inconveniency that 
attends this city, being a trading place, for want of having lights in 
the dark time of the moon in the winter season, it is therefore ordered 
that all and every of the housekeepers within this city shall put 
out lights in the windows fronting the respective streets of the city, 
between this and the 25th of March next, in the following manner : 
Every seventh house, in all the streets, shall, in the dark time of 
the moon, cause a lantern and candle to be hung out on a pole — 
the charge to be defrayed equally by the inhabitants of the said 
seven houses." About the same time the Board arranged for the 
appointment of "four good honest inhabitants of the city, whose 
duty it shall be to watch in the night from the hour of nine in the 
evening till break of day, until the 25th of March next ; and to go 
round the city each hour of the night, with bell, and there to proclaim 
the season of the weather and the hour of the nic^ht." It seems 



UNDER ENGLISH RULE 



5J 



very strange now to think that the time was when four men were 
sufficient to guard the city of New York, or that it would seem sat- 
isfactory to Hght it with lanterns suspended in front of the houses. 
In 1730, during the administration of Governor Montgomery, a 
stage route was established between New York and Philadelphia, 
trips being made once a fortnight. 
The same year the first free library 
was established in the city. It was 
known as the "Corporation Library." 
It was soon neglected and later be- 
came a part of the "Society Li- 
brary" which was established in 
1754. 




JOHN PETER ZENGER 

The first number of TJie Nczv 
York Gazette, the first paper pub- 
lished in New York, was issued in 
October, 1725. Only four other 
papers were then in existence in the 
colonies, three in Massachusetts and 
one in Philadelphia. The Gazette. 
which supported the court party, 
was published by William Brad- 
ford, the earliest printer in the colo- 
nies. Among his apprentices was 
John Zenger, who afterward established The A'c'tc York Weekly 
Journal. 

Rip Van Dam was the acting Governor, previous to the arrival 
of William Cosby, who was governor from 1732 to 1736. There 
was a bitter quarrel over the matter of Van Dam's salary, one half 
of which was claimed by Cosby. This quarrel was carried into 
the public press and the controversy became very bitter. 



OLD DUTCH HOUSE ON PEARL 
STREET, 1697 



52 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Cosby was another of the destitute and unscrupulous adherents 
of the English Court who had obtained an appointment that he 
might enrich himself at the expense of the people of the colony. 
The province was poor, and Cosby was extravagant, and therefore 
at odds with the colonists almost from the first, so that when the 
quarrel arose between him and \'an Dam the mass of the people 
were opposed to the Governor. 

Zenger opposed Cosby in the Journal, and naturally aroused the 
ire of the Governor, who was narrow and ignorant, and hated all 
who opposed any of his ideas. He persecuted all who differed with 
him to such an extent that the Journal made many bitter and sar- 
castic attacks on his administration. Zenger was not an educated 
man, and many of the articles in his paper were written by others, 
being written in the strong, forceful, and cultivated style of men of 
training and experience. These articles were stinging, and the 
arguments were unanswerable. The Council, in obedience to 
Cosby's orders, directed that several of the most offensive numbers 
of Zenger's paper should be burned by the common hangman. The 
articles were declared to be "libelous and seditious." Zenger was 
arrested and imprisoned. Bail was fixed at so enormous a sum 
that it was not possible for Zenger to secure it, so he had to remain 
in jail till the time of his trial. As Zenger was not the only, nor even 
the chief offender, those who had written the most offensive articles 
felt in honor bound to defend him and they did this loyally. The 
counsel secured for him were among the most eminent lawyers in the 
city. They questioned the validity of the appointment of the judges 
before whom the case was to come. For this act the Chief Justice 
ordered Zenger's lawyers to be expelled from the New York bar 
and refused to hear them in their own defence. This act on the part 
of the Chief Justice was believed to be a part of a conspiracy to 
crush Zenger and the opposition which he represented. No lawyer 
could be found in New York who dared to undertake Zenger's 
defence. His opponents believed that the matter was in their own 



UNDER ENGLISH RULE 53 

hands to be dealt with as they saw fit. They did not expect that 
any defence would be made for Zenger and were therefore greatly 
surprised on the day of the trial to see Andrew Hamilton of Phila- 
delphia, an aged man, but one of the most eminent lawyers in the 
country, rise to speak for the defence. He had been secretly re- 
tained by Zenger's friends. No question was raised as to the author- 
ship of the offending articles. Hamilton offered as defence to 
prove that the articles stated the truth. The judges refused to hear 
him on the question of libel and held that if the articles were true 
that W'Ould constitute no defence. Up to this time it had been held 
that "The greater the truth the greater the libel." 

The address of Hamilton on this occasion was regarded as being 
without an equal. He concluded a long address in these words : 
"The question before the court and you, gentlemen of the jury, is not 
one of small nor private concern ; it is not the cause of a poor 
printer, nor of New York alone, which you are now trying. No! 
It may in its consequences affect every freeman that lives under a 
British government on the main of America. It is the best cause, 
it is the cause of liberty ! And I make no doubt but your upright 
conduct to-day will not only entitle you to the love and esteem of 
vour fellow citizens ; but every one who prefers freedom to slavery 
will bless and honor you as men who have baffled the attempts of 
tyranny and by an impartial and uncorrupt verdict have laid a noble 
foundation for securing to ourselves, our posterity, and our neigh- 
bors that to which nature and the laws of our country have given us 
a right — the liberty both of exposing and opposing arbitrary power 
(in these parts of the world at least) by speaking and writing the 
truth." 

The attornev-general demanded the conviction of Zenger and 
the Chief Justice charged the jury that they must find him guilty, 
but the plea of Hamilton that they were the judges of the law as 
well as of the fact had its effect and they brought in a verdict of 
"not guilty." • It is said that such a scene as that which followed has 



54 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

never since been witnessed in a Xevv York court room. The whole 
au(Hence broke out into loud and long-continued cheering. Hamil- 
ton was almost idolized. A fine entertainment was given in his 
honor. When he left for his home he was accompanied by great 
crowds and as he embarked he was saluted with the firing of cannon. 
The verdict in the Zenger case established, not in New York alone, 
but in the whole country, the liberty of the press. It was one of 
the most important events in the history of the state, not only be- 
cause it established the freedom of the press, but also because it 
marked the dawning of a revolutionary spirit among the people. 

THE NEGRO PLOT 

In 1 741, during the administration of Lieutenant Governor 
Clarke, who succeeded Cosby, occurred what has been known as 
the "Negro Plot." These seem to have been the facts. A certain 
John Hughson kept a low negro groggery and was suspected of 
being a receiver of stolen goods. Mary Burton, a servant girl of 
his, had hinted to a neighbor that Hughson was in the habit of re- 
ceiving stolen goods from negroes. This led to the arrest of Hugh- 
son and the detention of the servant girl as a witness. She was 
promised a reward for appearing against Hughson. Two negroes 
were arrested for stealing and they and Hughson were committed 
for trial. On the day that they were committed the Governor's 
house in the fort was discovered to be on fire, and it and the chapel 
and other buildings were destroyed. Within two weeks there were 
five other fires, but no proof of incendiarism, yet that number of 
fires in so small a town, and within so short a time, caused much 
comment. Other fires followed and the excitement became intense. 
Many people left the city, taking their property with them. On the 
nth of April the Common Council offered a reward of one hundred 
pounds for the discovery of the incendiaries, with full pardon for 
any guilty person who might testify against his guilty associates. 
The grand jury met on the 2Tst of April. The servant girl, Mary 



UNDER ENGLISH RULE 55 

Burton, on being brought before it testified that certain negroes used 
to meet at Hughson's and talk of burning first the fort and then the 
whole town, and they indulged in much other wild talk about killing 
all the whites and ruling the city. Peggy Salinburgh, a disreputable 
inmate of Hughson's place, was also called before the grand jury but 
she denied any knowledge of a plot. She was convicted of receiving 
stolen goods, after which she asked to be reexamined and then tes- 
tified that she had heard certain negroes, whom she named, swear 
that they would burn the fort, steal and rob, and bring the stolen 
goods to a hotel keeper by the name of Romme. All the negroes 
named by her were arrested, and all declared their innocence. 
Later they began to accuse each other, hoping in that way to save 
themselves. Hughson, his wife, and the woman Peggy, all whites, 
were indicted charged with a conspiracy to burn the town. The 
principal witness against them was Mary Burton. They were all 
convicted and were hanged on the 12th of June. 

The excitement grew till no story was too wild to be believed. 
The people seemed to be in much the same mental condition as were 
those in Salem at the time of the witchcraft mania. Before the 
affair was over one hundred and fifty-four negroes were imprisoned, 
fourteen were burned at the stake, eighteen hanged and seventy- 
one transported. Twenty-one w'hite persons were arrested, of whom 
four were hanged. The last execution was that of Ury, a Catholic 
priest who had been engaged in teaching school. Of all those who 
were executed it may be doubted if a single one was guilty of the 
crime charged. The whole affair makes a very dark page in the 
history of the city. 

SLAVERY IN NEW YORK 

Slavery existed in New York at a very early day, certainly as 
early as 1628. There was a slave market at the foot of Wall street 
in 1709. About 1720 slaves were scarce in the city and sold at 
from £40 to £75 each. A number of African slaves were imported 



56 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

at different times. There were broug-ht into the city from Africa 
one hundred and sixty-seven slaves in 1702, five hundred and seven- 
teen in 171 8, one hundred and ninety-three in 1721, one hundred and 
thirteen in 1725, and one hundred and eighty in 1726. Each year 
additional slaves were imported. When we recall the fact that the 
population of New York was only about seven thousand in 1723, it 
becomes apparent that the slaves constituted a considerable pro- 
portion of the inhabitants. 

Slavery was by no means confined to negroes. People sold 
themselves for a term of years, during which time they were practi- 
cally slaves. If such persons ran away they were advertised just 
as other slaves were. Men and women frequently sold themselves 
for a term of years in order to secure their passage to this country. 
Negroes were told that they had no souls. Their punishments were 
frequently barbarous in the extreme. Some were burned at the 
stake, others broken on the wheel, or hung alive in chains, suffering 
a horrible death by slow torture. All this happened in our great 
state less than two hundred years ago. As late as 1750 such adver- 
tisements as the following were common in the newspapers of New 
York City : 

"A Likely Negro Bo}?^ about 14 years of Age, Country born, can speak 
Dutch or English, to be sold." 

"Run away on the fourth of February last, from Robert Livingston, a 
tall likely Negro Wench, named Nell, about 36 years of age." 

"Wanted a good Negro Man, that understands farming; either to hire 
or to buy." 

"To be sold a likel}' Negro Girl, about 12 years of age." 

"A likely Irish Servant Woman's time, of about six years, to be disposed 
of." 

"An English Servant Man's Time, of about Five Years, to be disposed of." 

"To be sold at Publick Vendue a number of likely Negro Slaves, lately 
imported in the Sloop Wolf directly from Africa." 

"Just iin ported from Liverpool, to be sold on board the snow, William 
Beekman, Master, Several White Servants." 



UNDER ENGLISH RULE 



57 



"Just arrived from Great Britain, and are to be sold on board the Ship 
Alice and Elizabeth, Capt. Faire, commander, several likely Welsh and 
English serving men, most of them tradesmen." 

Notices like the following were very common: 

"A servant man named Hugh Allen, is run away from his master, John 
Blake of New York. He is a tall, slender man, and much given to talk. 
He pretends to be a Doctor, and to let blood. He wears a light coloured 
blew coat, and is an Irish man. Whoever shall take up said servant and 
bring him to his Master, or secure him, and give Notice, so that his Master 
may have him again, shall have Twenty Shillings Reward, and all reasonable 
Charges." 




- ".I/.;,. lit 



()> 



A 



MAP SHOWING MADE LAND ON LOWER MANHATTAN ISLAND 



POINTS OF HISTORIC INTEREST IN OLD 
NEW YORK 



WALL STREET 

To-day this name is synonymous with that of speculation and 
great financial transactions. It is one of the famous streets of the 
world, hut its name has no relation to the business carried on in it. 

In 1653, during the reign of 
Stuyvesant, when the Dutch 
were afraid of an attack 
from the north, either by the 
Indians or by the English 
from the New England col- 
onies, a wall was built across 
the island to the north of 
the city. It passed through 
what is now W^all street, 
thence to the Hudson River 
through the place where 
Trinity church now stands. 
The wall was a palisade made of posts twelve feet in length and six 
inches in diameter ; one end was sharpened and the other set in the 
ground three feet deep. These posts were set so close that they 
touched each other. Split rails were spiked to the posts to 
strengthen the palisade. Within the palisade was a sloping breast- 
work of earth four feet high, three feet wide at the top and four 
feet at the bottom. 

There were several semicircular bastions along the line of the 

58 



illlil 


mmm 


-^ 1 1 i f ii t 


[IBilL 




=w? ^ 


i^;2G^jH| , ^^^^^^B 


|£^^ 



SECTION OF CITY WALL BUILT IN 1653 



POINTS OF HISTORIC INTEREST IN OLD NEW YORK 59 

wall, one at East River, projecting into the river so that the small 
cannon mounted on it could command the river both up and down 
the stream. There was another bastion near what is now Hanover 
street, a third just west of William street, another where the sub- 
treasury building stands, and still another just east of Broadway. 




FEDERAL HALL 



There was a gate in the wall near the East River shore, and another 
at Broadway. 

The wall was never used as a means of defence. When it was 
torn down the street that was laid out where the wall had been was 
not regarded as being one of much consequence, but its importance 
was greatly increased when the new City Hall was erected upon it, 
opposite Broad street. The erection of Trinity church at the head 
of this street added greatly to its attractiveness. The first slave 
market in the city was at the foot of Wall street. The first library 
of the city had its home in the City Hall. The famous Zenger trial 
was held there. It was the Citv Hall, refurnished and improved, 



6o 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



that was renamed Federal Hall, and it was there that Washington 
took the oath of office as President of the United States. It was in 
this building that Congress held its sessions as long as New York 
remained the capital of the nation. 

In 1770 a statue in honor of William Pitt was erected in Wall 
street, near the intersection of William. 

The Batik of New York, the first banking institution established 




THE JUMEL MANSION, 161ST STREET 



in the city, was located in Wall street at the corner of William. 
The next five banks established in New York were also located in 
Wall street. 

THE JUMEL MANSION 

In 1758 Roger Morris erected a mansion for his wife, who was 
the daughter of Frederick Philipse, the second lord of Philipse 
Manor. She was the beautiful and cultured Mary Philipse who 
tradition savs declined the hand of Washington to marry Morris. 



POINTS OF HISTORIC INTEREST IN OLD NEW YORK 6i 



an aide-de-camp to Braddock. Morris and his wife lived in this 
mansion till the beginning of the Revolution, when, having sided 
with the royalists, their estate was confiscated and the familv went 
to England. 

This famous old mansion is on 161 st street near Edgecombe 
Road. W^ashington made this house his 
headquarters after his retreat from Long 
Island, and when he was compelled to aban- 
don the city, General Knyphausen, the Hes- 
sian, occupied it as his headquarters. 

It was at this house tliat the unfortunate 
Hale received his final ir^structions before 
starting on his fatal errand, and here that 
Washington and his cabinet were guests in 
1790. 

For some time after the Revolution the 
title of the property was in dispute, but in 
1810 John Jacob Astor bought the claims 
of the A [orris heirs. A little later the house 
was sold to Stephen Jumel, an adventurous 
Frenchman who settled in New York and 
became one of its leading merchants. He 
married a beautiful New England girl and 
made the Morris mansion his home. Jerome 
llonaparte was a frequent guest of the 
Jumels, and Louis Philippe, Lafayette, Talleyrand, and Louis 
Xapoleon were entertained by them. 

Jumel died in 1832, and about a }ear later his widow married 
Aaron Rurr. The couple did not live happily together. Burr 
squandered his wife's estate and when she asked for an accounting 
coolly told her that that was not her affair, that her husband could 
manage her estate. The couple separated within a year from the 
time of their marriage, and for thirty-one years after Mrs. Jumel 




STATUE TO NATHAN HALE 



62 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

lived in the old mansion, spending the closing years of her life as 
a miser and a recluse. 

During the time that John Jacob Astor owned the place it is said 
that his friend and secretary, Fitz-Greene Halleck. lived with him 
and wrote his famous poem "Marco Bozzaris" in this historic old 
mansion. The house, which has now most properly become public 
property, has not greatly changed since the time it had for its 
guests Washington and many other famous men. 

GOLDEN HILL 

It was at Golden Hill, in John street, near William, that the first 
blood of the Revolution was shed. Ever since the passage of the 
Stamp Act there had been bitter feeling between the British soldiers 
and the Sons of Liberty. The Liberty pole on the Common was 
made the rallying point of the patriots, and because of this it was 
ofifensive to the soldiers and was cut down by them. Twice it 
was replaced by the Sons of Liberty, and twice cut down again by 
the soldiers. The fourth pole was fastened with iron braces, and 
kept its place till the night of the i6th of January, 1770, when a 
party of soldiers not only cut it down for the fourth time, but cut it 
in pieces, and piled the fragments in front of the headquarters of the 
Sons of Liberty. This provoked the most intense anger. Two days 
later there was a collision on Golden Hill and half a dozen on each 
side were wounded ; the next day the contest was renewed and a 
sailor was killed by the soldiers. These two days' fighting constitute 
what is known as the battle of Golden Hill. This occurred six 
weeks before the massacre in King street, Boston, and five years 
before the Battle of Lexington, so Xew York has reason for the 
claim made that in her streets was shed the first blood in the cause 
of freedom. 

THE BOWERY 

Bowery, spelled bouwerie. is a Dutch word for farm. The road 
that led through the various farms on lower Manhattan Island was 



POINTS OF HISTORIC INTEREST IN OLD NEW YORK 63 

known as Bouwerie Lane and in time became the street we now call 
the Bowery. Along this road grew up a little hamlet, known as 
the Bowery. There was at this place a famous tavern which was a 
favorite resort. It was here, in 1690, that the Commissioners from 
the New England colonies met w'ith those representing New York 
to consider plans for the invasion of Canada. 

For many years the Bowery was the only road leading out from 
the little town clustered about Fort Amsterdam. 

The largest of the bouweries belonged to Governor Stuyvesant ; 
and it was on the Bowery road that he had his country home. It 
was along this road that the post-rider made his way in carrying the 
first mail from New York to Boston. 

During the Revolution a large part of the British army in New 
York was encamped along the Bowery, and the drinking places and 
resorts for low grade entertainments that were established there 
at that time drove the more fashionable people and the better class 
of business to other parts of the city, and did much to determine 
the future character of the street. 

CITY HALL 

The new City Hall on the corner of Wall and Nassau streets, 
completed in 1700, was a very fine building for the time. It con- 
tained the only prison in the city till 1760, so it must have been here 
that Zenger was confined during the imprisonment preceding his 
trial for libel. It was here that the Stamp Act congress assembled ; 
liere that the chief men of the town met and resolved that they 
would not pay the tax on tea ; here that the Sons of Liberty came and 
confiscated the arms and ammunition stored in one of the rooms, 
after they had heard the news from Concord and Lexington. It 
was frdm the balcony of the City Hall that the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence was read, by order of Congress. It was on the site of this 
famous City Hall that the United States Sub-Treasury building was 
erected. 



64 



ExVRLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



TRINITY CHURCH 

A Royal grant of land was given to Trinity in 1697, and the first 
church erected upon it was occupied in 1698. Tiiis church was 
destroyed by the great fire of 1776, and was rebuilt in 1778. The 
present edifice was erected in 1846. In 1703 the church came into 

the possession of what was 
known as the "King's Farm" 
which has since been a source 
of princely revenue to Trinity. 
Many churches and parishes owe 
their existence to the funds de- 
rived from this source. King's 
College, now Columbia Univer- 
sity, owes its organization to the 
same means. All the income from 
the great estate, which in the 
early days was the Annetje Jans 
farm, is used for the support 
of Trinity, and several other 
churches in the city ; in aiding 
weak churches in other places ; 
in maintaining hospitals ; in pro- 
viding scholarships at Trinity 
College in Hartford, Conn., and for many other beneficent purposes. 
William \^ese}-, in whose honor Vesey street was named, was the 
first rector of Trinity and served in that capacity for nearly fift\- 
years. It is quite remarkable that in the more than two hundred 
years of its existence Trinity has had only nine rectors. 

In Trinity Churchyard are the remains of many noted men. 
Here lie William Bradford, editor of the first newspaper in New 
York ; Sir Henry Moore, Sir Danvers Osborne, and James DeLan- 
cey. colonial governors ; Robert Livingston ; Michael Cresap, a noted 




TRINITY CHURCH 



POINTS OF HISTORIC INTEREST IN OLD NEW YORK 65 

Indian fighter; Alexander Hamilton and Albert Gallatin, famous 
Secretaries of the Treasury ; the Earl of Sterling ; John Iamb, and 
Marius Willett, the founders and leaders of the Sons of Liberty ; 
Philip Livingston and Robert Lewis, signers of the Declaration of 
Independence; Robert Fulton; General Phil. Kearney; Charlotte 
Temple ; James Lawrence, and many others but little less noted. 

THE BATTERY 

\Mien the English came into the possession of the city they 
proceeded to strengthen the fort by the erection of batteries. In 
course of time both the fort and the associated batteries fell into 
disuse, and when they were finally removed, a considerable portion 
of the territory was made into a park which is still known as the 
Battery. It was here that Lafayette landed on his visit to this 
country in 1824. It was here, in Castle Garden, that a grand recep- 
tion was given him. It was here that Clay and Webster were heard ; 
here that Jackson and other Presidents were received ; here that 
Kossutli was welcoiued, and Jenny Lind sang ; here that Mario, 
Grisi, and many others were heard. But with the opening of the 
Academy of Alusic in Fourteenth street in 1854 the day of Castle 
Garden as the home of the opera came to an entl. The following 
year it became a landing place for immigrants and continued ^o be 
used for that purpose till 1890, since which time it has been under 
the jurisdiction of the department of public parks and used as the 
liome of the New York Aquarium. 

In former years the Battery Park had been the strolling place 
of Generals Howe and Clinton ; of Washington, Arnold, and Andre ; 
of Jefiferson, Burr, and Hamilton ; of Jerome Bonaparte, and Louis 
Philippe ; of Irving, Cooper, Halleck, Drake, Willis, an'd Morris. • 

BOWLING GREEN 

A small park at the foot of Broadway that has always been used 
for public ])urp,)scs is known as Bowling Green. When Fort Am- 



feSi! 







»f^ 



•ii^ 




— i-'iT'^-^ 



POINTS OF HISTORIC INTEREST IN OLD NEW YORK 67 

sterdani was built the open space to the north of it was left for a 
public common, then known as "The Plaine." It is probable that 
it was on or near this spot that Minuit met with the Indians to bar- 
gain for Manhattan Island. This little park in the early days was 
the village green and the children's playground. It was here that 
Governor Kieft established two annual fairs, one held in October 
and the other in Xovember. It was here that the "May-Day" 
festivals were held. 

After a time this plot of ground came to be known as "The 
Parade." In 1732 the city fathers leased it to John Chambers. 
Peter Bayard, and Peter Jay, who prepared it for playing the game 
of bowls, whence the more modern name of the park. 

On the 2 1st of August, 1770, a leaden statue of George the 
Third was erected in the centre of Bowling Green. Just at the 
breaking out of the Revolution the statue was torn down and sent 
to Litchfield, Connecticut, where the wife and daughter of Gov- 
ernor W'olcott made forty-two thousand bullets from it. 

FRAUNCES' TAVERN 

This historic building, one of the oldest in the city, is at the corner 
of Pearl and Broad streets. It was built in 1730 by Stephen De- 
Lancey, a Huguenot nobleman who fled from France. The firm 
of DeLancey, Robinson, and Company occupied the old mansion as 
a store from 1757 to 1761. In January, 1762, the property passed 
into the hands of Samuel Fraunces, a West Indian, who used it as 
a tavern. It was for many years the most popular place in the 
city, the Delmonico of its time. 

It was the favorite meeting place of "The Moot," a club com- 
posed mainly of lawyers, and which included in its membership 
such names as Livingston, Jay, DeLancey, and Morris. Here also 
met the "Social Club" having among its members John Jay, Gouver- 
neur Alorris, Robert Livingston, Morgan Lewis, and Gulian Ver- 
[>lanck. It was at Fraunces' tavern that the Board of Trade of New 



68 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

York City was organized. The British held dancing assembUes there 
during their occupancy of the city. It was there that Governor 
Clinton gave a dinner to Washington and other noted men when 
the Americans entered the citv after it was evacuated bv the British. 




Fruiu a phutugraiili by li. Bierstadt, N. Y. 

LONG ROOM KRAUNCES' TAVERN 

It was there that Washington, ten days later, at noon on the 4th of 
December, 1783, in the famous "Long Room" bade farewell to his 
associates in the army. 

THE BEEKMAN HOUSE 

A house of much historic interest formerly stood on Fifty-first 
street. At the time of the Revolution it was occupied by James 
Beekman. lieing a loyalist Beekman fled when Washington entered 
the city after the Battle of Long Island. When Sir William Howe 
was in New York he made this house his headquarters. It was 
here that Andre received his final instructions before going to meet 



POINTS OF HISTORIC INTEREST IN OLD NEW YORK 69 

Arnold ; here that Nathan Hale was tried and condemned to be 
hanged. When Washington was President, and living in New 
York, he often stopped at this house while driving about the city. 

THE PHILIPSE MANOR HOUSE 

Although this house was not in the city of New York its owner 
and occupant was a part of the city life, and active in all the affairs 
that had to do with the city's welfare. The older part of the 




THE PHILIPSE MANOR HOUSE 



house was built in 1682, and the newer part in 1745. The building 
as a whole is a curious mixture of Dutch and English architecture. 
It was built by Frederick Philipse, who came to this country a 
penniless youth of high birth in the time of Stuyvesant. He engaged 
in the fur trade and became the richest man in the colony. His 
l)roperty, together with that of many other wealthy lovalists, was 
confiscated after the Revolution. 

The beautiful Mary Philipse, with whom it is said Washington 
was deeply in love, lived at the Philijise Manor House. In 1868 the 



70 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



city of Yonkers bought the Manor House and converted it into a 
City Hall. 

ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL 

St. George's Chapel stood on the corner of Cliff and Beekman 
streets and was for many reasons a structure of much interest. It 
was erected as a chapel by Trinity Church but later became a sep- 
arate organization. The demands of 
business led to its removal in 1868 
and a new building was erected in 
Sixteenth street. The lot on which 
the old church stood was purchased 
in 1748 for $500. It is probably 
worth more than a million dollars 
now. The first subscription for the 
church was made by Sir Peter War- 
ren who gave £100 and asked that 
a pew be reserved for himself and 
family in perpetuity. The installa- 
tion services were held on the ist of 
July, 1752. St. George's was burned 
in January, 1814, but was rebuilt on 
the same walls. It is said that 
Washington freciuently attended ser- 
vice here during the early part of 
the Revolution. Among the mem- 
bers of St. George's were the Schuylers, Livingstons, Beekmans, 
Van Rensselaers, Van Courtlandts. Reades, Moores and other 
famous families. 




ST. GEORGE S CHAPEL 



EARLY SCHOOLS 



Something has already been said of education under the Dutch 
and that upon the coming of the English interest in education Ian- 




,ii? Ji;V 




■■<-w! I 




kn 




72 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



guished. It was not until a considerable time after the close of the 
Revolution that much interest was manifested in public education. 
In 1805 a society was formed which in 1808 took the name of 
"Free School Society of the City of New York." The first building 
which they erected was dedicated on the 11th of December. 180Q. 
The dedicator\- address was "-ivcn h\ l)c Witt Clinton, who said 




FIRST FREE SCHOOL BUILDING IN NEW YORK 

the purpose of the society was not "the founding of a single acad- 
emy, but the establishment of schools." P>y 1825 the society had 
erected six school buildings. The first school building was two 
stories in height, built of brick, and would accommodate six hundred 
and fifty pupils. 



THE MIDDLE DUTCH CHURCH 

This church was situated on Xassau street. 1)etween Cedar and 
Liberty streets. It was finished in T731, and was in the fullest sense 
a Dutch church. The English language was not used in preaching 
in it till T764. The church would seat about twelve hundred people, 
and its congregation was the largest in the city. This church was 
for a long time regarded as one of the finest buildings in the citv. 



POINTS OF HISTORIC INTEREST IN OLD NEW YORK 



73 



During the Revolution it was used as a military prison. It had to 
be thoroughly repaired afterwards and was not reopened for ser- 
vice after the Revolution till 1790. In 1845 it was leased to the 
United States Government, and used as a postoffice for thirty years. 




ULU POSTOFFICE, FORMERLY MIDDLE DUTCH CHURCH 



THE OLD SUGAR HOUSE 

The Old Sugar House in Liberty street was used as a prison 
during tlie Revolution. More than eight hundred of tlic ])atriots 
were confined there at one time. They had almost no bedding and 
absolutely no fire, during one of the coldest winters ever known in 
the city, so cold that for forty days the Hudson River was frozen 
over between Cortlandt street and the New Jersey shore, as far 



74 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



down as Staten Island. There were no windows in the building, and 
the food furnished was poor and insufficient, "a loaf of bread, a 
quart of peas, half a pint of rice, and one and a half pounds of pork 
for six days." Many died of want. 







'4 -i4?^'*s^VW''~^'^^' 





OLD SUGAR HOUSE IN LIBERTY STREET 



NEW YORK IN THE REVOLUTION 

After the Battle of Long Island, Washington transferred his 
army to New York. Putnam, with four thousand men, was sta- 
tioned at the south end of the city, while Washington with the 
remainder of his forces was farther north. Howe fully expected 
to capture the American army after the Battle of Long Island and 
was greatly chagrined at its escape. However, he believed that the 
war was practically over, and thought it a favorable time to offer to 
treat for peace. Congress appointed a committee to meet him, but 
as he had no authority to offer any terms that the Americans could 
consider hostilities were resumed. 

On the 15th of September, Sir Henry Clinton with four thousand 
men landed at Kip's Bay, about where Thirty-fifth street now is. 
This movement threatened the line of retreat open to the Americans, 
so Washington at once withdrew to Harlem Heights and ordered 
Putnam to join him without delay. There was great danger that 
Putnam would be cut off, as the very flower of the British army was 
engaged in a movement with that end in view. 

When the British reached the point where the Grand Central 
station now is, Howe, Clinton, Tryon, and other British officers, 
were invited to lunch with Mrs. Mary Lindley Murray. She enter- 
tained them charmingly, serving them with delicate refreshments 
and fine wine. The wit and repartee of Mrs. Murray were so 
appreciated by the British officers that they spent two hours 
at her house. It was this delay that saved Putnam and his army. 
Within a very short time after he had passed up the Bloomingdale 
road to join Washington, the British had established their lines so 

75 



76 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



as to cut off any force that might be below Thirty-fourth street. 
The following day the stubbornly contested battle of Harlem Heights 
was fought. 

The Murray house stood near where Grand Central station is 
now and gave the name of Murray Hill to that locality. 

Considerable space might be given to the movement of troops 
in and about New York, but it is enough for our purpose to say 




I-ERRV HULSi:, 1740, ILLTOX SIKKET, KRuuKLV.N 



that after the battle of Harlem Heights, Washington withdrew from 
the city, and it remained in the hands of the llritish till the close of 
the war. For seven long years it was occupied by the enemy. No 
other city sufTcred during the Revolution as did New York, whicli 
lost half its population and all its commerce. More than one-fourth 
of the city was burned, and no attempt was made to repair the loss. 
Its churches were used as prisons. The pews and ])ulpit were taken 
from the Middle Dutch Church, and three thousand jirisoners were 
confined there. The North Dutch, the Brick, the Huguenot, and 
llie Lullieran churches were used for the same purpose. Three 



NEW YORK IN THE REVOLUTION 



77 



great sugar houses were also used as prisons. The treatment to 
which the prisoners were subjected is an indehble stain upon the 
British administration at that time. Many of the prisoners died of 
want. Xo care whatever was taken of the sick. Tlie dead were 




*■■■ ♦■^■■^^ \X\>^^^-'-^'* / ■*< ' 







-J./f. ,'. 



\\i 



MAP SHOWING THE TERRITORY BURNED OVER IN 1776 



tumbled into a ditch, scores at a time, and so imperfectly covered 
that often a hand or a foot would be exposed. Life on the prison 
ships was even worse than in the prisons on land. 

When Sir Henry Clinton succeeded 1 lowe in command at New 
York he made his headquarters at the Kennedy house at the lower 



78 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

end of Broadway. It was here that he and Andre worked out their 
plans for bring'ing about the treason of Ariiold. 

In 1852 the vestry of Trinity Parish erected a brown freestone 
monument in Trinity Churchyard in memory of the American 
patriots who had died in British i)risons in Xew York durin^^ tlie 
Revokition. 



NEW YORK AS THE CAPITAL OF THE 

NATION 



The British evacuated New York at the close of the Revohi- 
tion and for some time thereafter the Americans made it their cap- 
ital. The first Congress assembled there on the 4th of March, 1789. 




THE FRANKLIN HOUSE 

At this time the city had about thirty thousand inhabitants. It 
bore many evidences of the strug'g'le it had been through. Very 
little of the burned territory had been rebuilt. The streets were nar- 
row, poorly paved, poorly lighted, and dirty, and in many cases very 
crooked. There was no sewerage system. Water was brought into 
the city in barrels and hogsheads and carried around the town for 
sale. The wharves were filthy, and dogs and pigs ran freely 

79 






















?! W^I^ 



il?^ 









Ligrm'V^hiKi!^ 



NEW YORK AS THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 8i 

through all the streets. There were two thousand slaves, and a 
very large pauper population. It was not a city of which a nation 
could be proud, nor was it a fit place for the capital of the countrv. 
It was on the 25th of November, 1783, that the British evacuated 
the city. Washington had already disbanded the greater part of 
his army. About eight hundred men were encamped at McGowan's 




GRANT S TOMB 



Pass, near the present north-eastern entrance of Central Park. 
Washington had his headquarters at Day's Tavern, near the corner 
of One Hundred and Twenty-fifth street and Eighth avenue. 

An incident which aroused much interest at the time occurred 
on the day of the evacuation. When the Americans took possession 
of Fort George they found that the fiag-stafif had been greased 
from top to bottom, the cleats knocked ofi^, and the halyards carried 
away. The purpose, no doubt, was to j^revent the raising of the 
American flag until the British were out of sight, but the flag was 
raised and a salute of thirteen guns fired from the cannon captured 
from the British while their vessels were still in the bay. 

At Fraunces' Tavern, on the afternoon of the evacuation, there 



82 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



was a public dinner which concluded with the toast, "May the re- 
membrance of this day be a lesson to princes." 

At noon on the 4th of December, Washington met the principal 
officers of the army at Fraunces' Tavern to take formal leave of 
them. Washington filled his glass with wine and said, "With a 

heart full of love and gratitude, 
I now take leave of you. I most 
devoutly wish that your latter 
days may be as prosperous and 
happy as your former ones have 
been glorious and honorable." 
After the wine was drunk, 
Washington said, "I cannot 
come to each of you, but I shall 
feel obliged if each of you will 
come and take me by the hand." 
The parting took place without 
a word being spoken, but tears 
were shed, and it was a scene 
long to be remembered. 

The first Congress assembled 
in Federal Hall, April 6, 1789. 
After canvassing the returns 
George Washington was de- 
clared unanimously elected the 
first President of the United States. 

While Washington was in New York, he made his home at 
first in what was known as the Franklin house on Cherry Hill (where 
is now the IManhattan terminus of the Brooklyn Bridge). He 
found this place too far out in the country to enable him readily to 
take part in the social life of the city, so in February. 1790, he 
removed to the Macomb mansion, situated at what is now 39 
Broadwav. 




WASHINGTON ARCH 



NEW YORK AS THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 



83 



While in New York, Washington Hved a very simple life. He 
occasionally attended the theatre in John street, and always 
on Sunday mornings he and his family attended service at St. 
Paul's. 

Xew York ceased to be the Federal capital in August, 1700, but 
it still continued to be the home of 
many of the great leaders of the Fed- 
eral party. 

There are other points of interest 
with which the reader should be 
made familiar. The battlefield of 
Harlem Heights is now the site of 
Barnard College. Grant's Tomb is 
close at hand. 

The oldest public monument in 
the city is that in St. Paul's Church- 
yard, which was erected to the mem- 
ory of General Richard Montgomery, 
who, at the early age of thirty-seven, 
fell at the siege of Quebec. The 
Washington monument at Union 
Square was erected in 1856, and 
stands on the spot where Washing- 
ton was received by the citizens of 
New York when he entered the city upon its evacuation by the 
British. 

Washington Arch was erected at Washington Square to com- 
memorate the one hundredth anniversary of American Independence. 




THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH IN 
GARDEN STREET 



SOME OLD DUTCH CHURCHES 

The first Dutch Church erected after the stone church built 
within the fort was the Old South Church on Garden street. It 
was completed in 1693, and cost a little less than thirty thousand 



84 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



dollars of our money. This was the only Dutch house of worship 
in the city until the erection of the New Dutch Church on the corner 
of Nassau and Liberty streets. This church was begun in 1727. It 
was occu])ic(l for worship in t7_'(), but was not fully completed till 

1731. The North Dutch 
Church was completed 
in 1769. During- the 
Revolution it was used 
for a hospital. 

SOME POINTS OF INTER- 
EST 

A list of points of 
historical interest in 
New York, repeating 
many already given, and 
adding some others, may 
serve the pvirpose of 
emphasizing the early 
history of the city, and 
also add somewhat to 
the clearness of the pic- 
ture. 

Trinity Church. — 
This is at the head 
of Wall Street. It was incorporated in 1697, '^"^ ^^"^^ been 
twice burned. The present structure was erected in 1846. The 
churchyard is on the site of the West India Company's garden. 
This garden, Farm No. i, and the Annetje Jans farm, formed 
the Trinity estate. 
No. I IjR0.\dway. — Statues of Clinton, Wolfe. Stuyvesant and Hud- 
son. 
No. 41 Broadway. — Site of the houses constructed by Adrien 




NEW DUTCH CHURCH 



NEW YORK AS THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 85 

Block in 161 3, tlie first houses on Manhattan Island occupied by 

white men. Tablet by the Holland Society. 
No. I Broadway. — Site of the Kennedy House. Washington's 

headquarters in 1776. The headquarters of many of the British 

officers during the Revolution. Talleyrand and Prince William 

were entertained here. Tablet by the Sons of the Revolution. 

Robert Fulton died in the house at the rear of this site. 
No. 4 BowLixNG Green. — A tablet on the Cunard Steamship Com- 
pany's office by the Holland Society marks the situation of the 

north-west bastion of Fort Amsterdam. 
No. T,^ Pearl Street. — Site of the First Dutch Church. Erected 

in 1633. 
No. 73 Pearl Street. — Site of Kieft's Tavern which became the 

Stadt Huys in 1653. Tablet by the Holland Society. 
79 TO 81 Pearl Street. — Site of IJradford's first press. Tablet by 

the New York Historical Society. 
No. 178 Pearl Street. — Home of George Clinton in 1789. 
No. 3 Bridge Street. — Site of the bridge over the canal in Broad 

street. W^ashington Irving once lived here. 
Corner of Pearl and Broad Streets. — Site of Fraunces' Tavern. 

Chamber of Commerce organized here in 1768. Here Wash- 
ington bade farewell to his officers in 1783. 
No. 29 Willl\m Street. — Here in a room twelve by fifteen feet 

was the first post office in the city. 
Corner Vesey Street and Broadway. — St. Paul's Chapel. Oldest 

church building in the city. Erected in 1764. Montgomery 

monument in the rear. 
Corner Nassau and Cedar Streets. — Site of Middle Dutch 

Church. Used by the British as a prison during the Revolution. 

Post office from 1845 to 1875. Tablet on Mutual Life Building. 
No. 33 Liberty Street. — Site of the Livingston Sugar House. 

Used as a prison during the Revolution. 
No. 10 Cedar Street. — Once the home of Aaron r>urr. 



86 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

North-west corner of John and William Streets. — Site of 
Battle of Golden Hill. Tablet. 

122-124 William Street. — Golden Hill Inn. Favorite meetint^ 
place of the Sons of Liberty. 

No. 113 Fulton Street. — Site of North Dutch Church. Used as 
a prison during the Revolution. 

No. I Cherry Street.— Site of house occupied by Washington 
when President. Tablet on pier of Brooklyn Bridge. 

Block bounded by King, McDougall, Charlton, and \"arick 
Streets. — Richmond Hill. Occupied by Lord Amherst, Sir 
William Carleton, Washington, John Adams, and Aaron Burr. 

One Hundred and Forty-first Street and Convent Avenue. — 
Hamilton Grange. Country seat of Alexander Hamilton. 

One Hundred and Sixty-first Street, near Edgecombe Ave- 
nue. — The Jumel ]\Iansion. Tablet by Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution. 

City Hall Park. — Statue of Nathan Hale. 

Copies of the inscriptions on some of the tablets mentioned will 

be of interest. A few are here given. 

HERE STOOD 

THE MIDDLE DUTCH CHURCH 

DEDICATED A. D. 1729 

MADE A BRITISH MILITARY PRISON 1776 

RESTORED 1790 

OCCUPIED AS THE UNITED STATES POST OFFICE 1845-1875 

TAKEN DOWN 18S2 

THE MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE CO. 

OF NEW YORK 



NEW YORK AS THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 87 

WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS 

THIS TABLET IS DEDICATED BY THE 

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS CHAPTER 

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

TO THE MEMORY OF 

GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON 

WHO OCCUPIED THIS MANSION AS HIS HEADQUARTERS 

FROM SEPTEMBER i6th TO OCTOBER 21st, 1776 

BATTLE OF HARLEM HEIGHTS, SEPTEMBER i6th 

COUNCILS OF WAR 
PRESIDENT WASHINGTON VISITED THIS MANSION 

ACCOMPANIED BY HIS CABINET, JULY, 1790 

MORRIS -HOUSE, 1758 JUMEL MANSION, 1810 

EARLE CLIFF, 1900 

The following inscription is on a tablet on the eastern wall of 
St. Mark's Church : 

IN THIS VAULT LIES BURIED 
PETRUS STUYVESANT 
LATE CAPTAIN GENERAL AND GOVERNOR IN CHIEF OF 

AMSTERDAM 

IN NEW NETHERLAND NOW CALLED NEW YORK 

AND THE DUTCH WEST INDIA ISLANDS, DIED IN A. D. 167. ^ 

AGED 80 YEARS 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



At the north-west corner of John and W'ilHam streets will be 
found a tablet bearing the following inscription : 

GOLDEN HILL 

HERE JANUARY i8, 1770 

THE FIGHT TOOK PLACE BETWEEN THE 

"SONS OF LIBERTY" 

AND THE 

BRITISH REGULARS, i6th FOOT 

FIRST BLOOD IN THE 

WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 

ERECTED BY THE SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 



A very interesting tablet at J}^ Pearl street bears the following 
inscription : 

THE SITE OF THE 

FIRST DUTCH HOUSE OF ENTERTAINMENT 

ON THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN 

LATER THE SITE OF THE OLD "STADT IIUYS" 

OR CITY HALL 

THIS TABLET IS PLACED HERE BY 

THE HOLLAND SOCIETY OF NICW YORK 

SEPTEMBER, 1890 



NEW YORK AS THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION 89 

The followin.G: inscription will be found on a tablet placed on 
No. 41 Broadway : 

THIS TABLET MARKS THE SITE OF THE 

FIRST HABITATIONS OF WHITE MEN 

ON THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN 

ADRIAEN BLOCK 

COMMANDER OF THE TIGER 

ERECTED HERE FOUR HOUSES OR HUTS 

NOVEMBER. 16 13 

HE BUILT THE RESTLESS THE FIRST VESSEL 

MADE BY EUROPEANS IN THIS COUNTRY 

THE RESTLESS WAS LAUNCHED 

IN THE SPRING OF 1614 

THIS TABLET IS PLACED HERE BY 

THE HOLLAND SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 

SEPTEMBER, i8qo 

On the corner of Pearl and Broad streets tlie following tablet 
will be found : 

FRAUNCES' TAVERN — TO THIS BUILDING 

GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON 

CAME EVACUATION DAY, NOV. 25, 1783 

AND ON THURSDAY, DEC. 4th 

FOLLOWING, HERE TOOK LEAVE OF THE PRINCIPAL 

OFFICERS OF THE ARMY YET IN SERVICE 

ERECTED BY THE SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 

We are all proud of our great Empire State, and if we knew its 
history better our pride would be still greater. We do know much 
of its history, but I fear that most of us know but little of that which 
precedes the Revolution. Why are our laws, manners, and cus- 
toms, English instead of French? Why do French customs, man- 
ners and laws, largely prevail in Canada and not with us ? We can- 
not fully understand this unless we have learned something of the 
Iroquois Confederacy. 

Some time during the thirteenth or fourteenth century an off- 
shoot of the great Dakota family, in the far West, began an east- 
ward movement. It was not a rapid one. These people seem to 
have remained for a considerable time at several places while on 
their way to the East. This is especially true of their stay in the 
Mississippi valley. 

While they were in that valley there was a division, one portion 
whom we know as the Cherokees moving toward the south and occu- 
pying the mountain region of eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia, 
and western North Carolina ; two other groups known as the Tus- 
caroras and Nottaways settling on the coast of northern North 
Carolina and southern Virginia. It is well to remember that these 
tribes belonged to the great Iroquois family, in fact one of them, the 
Tuscaroras, afterward came north and joined their brethren in 
New York. 

Save for the diversions just mentioned, the Iroquois people seem 
to have kept together till they reached the Niagara River, where 
thev all remained for a time, and then a portion of them passed still 
farther east, spreading out in a great fan-shaped movement and 

90 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 



91 



occupying the territory from the St. Lawrence on the north to the 
Susquehanna on the south. The territory which they occupied 
was compact, no intervening tribes separating the different Iroquois 
people. On all sides of them were the Algonquins, another great 




MAP OF THE TERRITORY OF THE SIX NATION'S 

Mohawks (Ga-ne-a-ga-o-no), or People Possessors of the Flint; Onondagas (0-nun-d"-ga-o-n6), 
or People on the Hills; Senegas (Nun-da- wa-o-n(5), or Great Hill People; Oneidas (O-na-yote-ka-o- 
n6), or Granite People; Cayugas (Gwe-u-gweh-o-n(5), or People of the Mucky Land; Tuscaroras 
(Dus-ga-o-weh-o-no), or Shirt Wearing People. 



Indian family, far more numerous than the Iroquois. It was, so 
to speak, "an Iroquois island in an Algonquin sea." 

Taken as a whole this great family that came out from the west 
was known as the Huron-Iroquois, but that portion of the family 
that made up the confederacy which we arc to study, was generally 



92 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

known simply as the Iroquois, though the Dutch spoke of them as 
the Ala(|uas, the early English called them the Alingoes. the Mohicans 
knew them as the Alengwe, and to other Algonquin tribes they were 
known as the Nodawas. 

How early these people broke up into separate tribes or nations 
is not definitely known, but it is certain that the separation had 
begun before the onward movement from Niagara took place, for at 
that time different portions of the Iroquois were spoken of as 
Hurons, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks. All these tribes 
passed to the north of Lake Ontario. The Hurons settled in the 
country between Lake Ontario and the lake that bears their name, 
while the other tribes mentioned passed on farther east. xA-uother 
group of the Iroquois, who were later known as the Neuter Nation, 
settled along the northern shore of Lake Erie, and south of the 
western end of Lake Ontario, probably as far east as the present 
city of Lockport. To the south of this tribe, along the southern 
shore of Lake Erie were the Eries or Cat Nation, a very numerous 
people. The Senecas and Cayugas occupied the territory to the 
south of Lake Ontario and east of the Eries and Neuter Nation. 
The Senecas were farther west than the Cayugas and far more nu- 
merous and powerful. Still another tribe, known as the Susquehan- 
nocks, settled in the Susciuehamxa valley. All these people were of 
the Iroquois stock. 

As the Onondagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks entered the valley 
of the St. Lawrence they came in contact with the Adirondacks. 
an Algonquin tribe. With these people the Mohawks waged a 
long and bitter war, of which we know nothing regarding the 
details. 

The Mohawks were the most numerous and warlike of the three 
tribes that entered the St. Lawrence valley. They made their way 
as far east as Quebec which they made their capital. In the mean- 
time their kinsmen, the Hurons, made their capital at Montreal 
which they called Ilochelaga. 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 93 

The Hurons seem to have been disposed to hve in peace with 
their Algonquin neighbors, while the Mohawks were constantly at 
war with them. For this, or for some other reason, the Mohawks 
quarrelled with their kinsmen and drove them out of Hochelaga and 
made their own capital there. At this time the Mohawks were prob- 
ably at the height of their power. They dominated all the country 
from the lower St. Lawrence to the head waters of the Mohawk. 
Vermont and the Adirondacks were their hunting grounds. They 
were continually at war with the surrounding tribes. 

The various movements that took place before the final settle- 
ment of the Iroquois in this state are more or less uncertain. The 
Onondagas seem to have returned along the route by which they 
entered the St. Lawrence valley, and finally to have entered this state 
at or near Oswego. The Oneidas, closely related to the Mohawks, 
appear to have entered the state at an earlier date than did their 
allies. They settled in the territory which they continued to occupy 
until after the Revolution. 

For some reason, not now known, the Mohawks were attacked 
at the same time by their kinsmen, the Hurons, and all the northern 
Algonquin tribes. A long and bloody contest followed, resulting 
in the expulsion of the Mohawks, who retreated through Lakes 
Champlain and George, and entered the valley that has since borne 
their name. It is said that plague and famine were added to the 
horrors of war. Be that as it may, it is certain that the Mohawks 
were driven out of the country, greatly reduced in numbers, and 
somewhat humbled in spirit. The date of their expulsion is not 
definitely known, but when Cartier came to Canada in 1535, he 
found a Mohawk village on the island of Montreal ; but seventy- 
four years later, when Champlain came, no trace of the Mohawks 
could be found in that section, so we may be sure that the Mohawks 
were driven out of the St. Lawrence valley some time between 1535 
and 1609. 



94 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

ORIGIN OF THE CONFEDERACY 

Some writers claim that the Iroquois Confederacy was formed as 
early as 1450, while- others are equally certain that it was not earlier 
than 1570. When the Onondag'as settled in this state the Oneidas 
were their near neig-libors on the east, while the Cayugas joined them 
on the west. All these were kindred people. The Oneidas were a 
dependency of the Mohawks, and the Cayug'as bore a similar rela- 
tion to the Senecas, so it is quite possible that there was a general 
understanding among the five tribes as early as 1450, though it is 
not probable that at this early date there was any organization of the 
nature of a confederacy. Such an organization among savage peo- 
ples would naturally be a plant of slow growth and it is more than 
probable that it was not fully perfected earlier than 1570. 

Doubtless the purpose of the confederacy was to put an end to 
warfare among themselves, and to gather strength for the purpose 
of better contending with their common foes. An effort was made 
to bring all the Iroquois people together in a confederacy, but at first 
only the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas 
joined. They were known as the Five Nations. Later the Tus- 
caroras came up from the south and joined them, after which they 
were called the Six Nations. 

The members of the confederacy were very bitter against the 
Iroquois nations who would not join the league. They were re- 
garded as traitors and pursued even more relentlessly than were 
their long time foes, the Algonquins. 

When the Six Nations were finally settled in this state they 
divided the territory among themselves in the manner shown on the 
map given on a preceding page. Beginning at the east they ar- 
ranged themselves in the ft)llowing order: Mohawks, Oneidas. 
Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. A\Mkmi the Tuscaroras came 
from the south they were given territory to the south of the 
Oneidas. You can determine, with a fair degree of accuracy, the 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 95 

location of each of these tribes by referring to any common map, 
as they have given their names to lakes and rivers ; and towns and 
counties have been named for them. 

AN IROQUOIS MYTH 

The Iroquois have a very pretty legend regarding the origin 
of their league. It runs like this : They were almost constantly at 
war with each other as well as with the surrounding Algonquin 
tribes. A fierce, warlike tribe from the north nearly exterminated 
the Onondagas. This created the greatest consternation among 
all the Iroquois people. Unless something could be done to check 
the ni^rthern barbarians all would perish. In their distress they 
called upon Hiawatha, "the Holder of the Heavens." He told them 
to call a great council to be held on the banks of Onondaga Lake, 
and to gather there representatives from all the tribes. This was 
done ; and after the great council fires had blazed three days and 
nights Hiawatha came across the lake to them in a great white 
canoe and spoke as follows : 

"Brothers; you have come here from a great distance to provide safety 
for yourselves and your homes. How shall it be done? We can make no 
progress by opposing singly these tribes from the cold north. We must 
imite all our tribes into one band of brothers. In that way we shall be able 
to keep our enemies from our land. 

"You, the Mohawks, sitting under the shadow of the 'Great Tree' whose 
roots sink deep into the earth, and whose branches spread out over a vast 
country, shall be the first nation, because you are warlike and mighty. 

"And you, Oneidas, a people who recline on your bodies against the 
'Everlasting Stone' that cannot be moved, shall be the second nation, be- 
cause you give wise coun.sel. 

"And you, Onondagas, who have your habitation at the 'Great Moun- 
tain ' and are overshadowed by its crags, shall be the third nation, because 
you are gifted in speech, and are mighty in war. 

"And you, Cayugas, whose habitation is in the 'Dark Forest' and whose 
home is everywhere, shall be the fourth nation, because of your superior 
cunning in hunting. 



q6 early new YORK HISTORY 

"And you, Senecas, a people who live in the 'Open Country' and possess 
much wisdom shall be the fifth nation, because you understand better the 
art of raising corn and beans, and inaking of cabins. 

"You, five great and powerful nations, must unite and have but one 
common interest and no foe shall be able to disturb you or subdue you. 
If we unite, the Great Spirit will smile upon us. Brothers, these are the 
words of Hiawatha; let them sink deep in your hearts." 

The legend says that when Hiawatha had finished speaking the 
air was filled with sweet music, and the beautiful white canoe rose 
slowly into the air bearing Hiawatha up into the beautiful deep blue 
sky and out of their sight, leaving them to act upon his advice. 

THE COMING OF THE WHITES 

When the first white people came to this country all that portion 
between the St. Lawrence on the north, and the James and Tennes- 
see rivers on the south was dominated by the Iroquois. They had 
exterminated many of the Indian tribes that had once occupied the 
country. Some of these people had been killed, others adopted, for 
the Iroquois never made slaves, death or adoption being the fate of 
all whom they overcame. 

On every hand the Mohawks were feared. They had driven the 
Mohicans, an Algonquin tribe, from the Hudson into the valley of 
the Connecticut, and so completely broken their spirit, that if a 
single Iroquois appeared in their country they would flee in terror 
crying "A Mohawk ! a Mohawk !" 

They had exterminated their old enemies, the Adirondacks, the 
first Algonquin tribe with whom they came in contact w'hen they 
entered the valley of the St. Lawrence, but the Hurons as well as 
the Algonquin tribes on the north kept up a continual warfare 
against them. 

In 1678 Father Hennepin said, "The Iroquois, whom the Swedes, 
then the Dutch, then the English, and French, have furnished with 
firearms, are reckoned at present the most warlike of all the savages 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 97 

yet known. They have slain the best warriors among the Hnrons, 
and forced the rest of the nations to join with them to make war 
together against all their enemies situated five or six hundred 
leagues distant from their five cantons. They have already de- 
stroyed above two millions of men." 

Martin D. Valiries wrote, "The Iroquois are a barbarous and 
insolent nation that has shed the blood of more than two millions 
of souls and are now actually at war with the inhabitants of Canada." 

It was not possible for any one to know the extent of the losses 
which the Iroquois had inflicted upon their enemies. While it was 
no doubt very great, the estimate of Father Hennepin and A'aliries 
was beyond question far too great. 

The Neuter Nation, supposed to number twelve thousand, was 
annihilated by the Senecas in 1650. The most powerful of all the 
enemies of the Iroquois were the Eries or Cat Nation. They were 
overcome about 1665. 

These various statements give a pretty good idea of the relation 
of the Iroquois to the other Indian nations when Champlain came 
to Canada in 1609. He was very desirous of cultivating friendly 
relations with the Hurons and the Algonqviins and he therefore 
accompanied a party of them on an expedition against the Mohawks. 

The party that Champlain accompanied passed up the St. Law- 
rence, through the Richelieu River, then southward over the waters 
of the magnificent lake that still bears the name of its discoverer. 
What must have been the feelings of Champlain and his two white 
companions as they gazed upon scenes which till that time no white 
man had ever looked upon? A great lake, much larger than any 
they had ever before known, lay before them, dotted here and there 
with islands, and its shores covered with forests of evergreen and 
deciduous trees. On their left, seen through the beautiful purple 
mists, were the Green mountains, while on their right, nearer at 
hand, rose the majestic Adirondacks, the hunting ground of the 
Iroquois, 



98 



•EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



Near Ticonderoga they met a war-party of Mohawks greatly out- 
numbering them, but the Algonquins had so great confidence in 
Champlain that they did not hesitate to meet the foe whom, under 
other circumstances, they would not have dared to face. In the 
fight that followed Champlain fired his musket, which he had loaded 
with four slugs, and killed one ^^lohawk chief and wounded two 
others. While he was reloading, one of his companions fired. The 

extraordinary noise, unlike anything 
they had ever heard, the death of their 
companions without any cause which 
they could comprehend, was too much 
for even the bravery and courage of the 
Mohawks to withstand, and they turned 
and fled into the depths of the forests. 
In their terror they abandoned canoes, 
provisions, and in many cases their 
weapons. 

If the shot fired by Champlain was 
not like that of the embattled farmers 
at Concord "heard round the world" it 
at least reverberated here for a century 
and a half and j^ossibly changed the 
destinies of a continent, for it made the 
Iroquois the bitter and undying enemies of the French, and the atti- 
tude of the Confederacy was a potent factor in giving this country 
to the English, as will be seen later. 

Their defeat at the hands of Champlain and the Algonquins 
rankled in the breasts of the Iroquois. They felt it to be a dis- 
grace that must never be forgiven nor forgotten. It was a humilia- 
tion that must be revenged at all hazards and at any cost, but for 
the time being they were powerless. Thirty-three years later, when 
perhaps not a man was living who had been engaged in the conflict 
with Champlain, they took full and bloody revenge. 




SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 99 

In the fall of the same year that Champlain defeated the Mo- 
hawks, Hudson entered New York Bay and passed up the river that 
has been named in his honor. The Dutch traders soon followed and 
from them the Iroquois secured firearms, and in time became skilled 
in their use. For a third of a century they bore in silence the 
humiliation of the defeat inllicted upon them by Champlain, but they 
never forgot it nor ceased to plan for revenge. They kept up a 
desultory warfare with the Hurons and the Algonquins. The Sen- 
ecas and other western nations maintained a warfare with the 
Hurons, while the JMohawks, in parties numbering from a dozen to 
a hundred, passed through the lakes and down the Richelieu River 
to the St. Lawrence where they would lie in ambush and attack 
passing boats. At times they would go even as far as Quebec and 
hover around the fortifications killing stragglers and luring parties 
into ambuscades. They would lie in wait for days or even weeks 
in order to ambush parties or attack an unguarded camp. In order 
clearly to understand the movements that will be described in the 
contests between the Iroquois, the French and the Canadian Indians, 
you must know something of the country traversed, and it will be 
worth your while to give some study to the map on page 91. 

The Iroquois were good haters and they had long memories. No 
task was. too hard if it led to the gratification of their revenge. A 
journey of a thousand miles, or a wait of years, was as nothing if 
it enabled them to satisfy their desire for vengeance. These were 
the characteristics of a people who had been nursing their wrath 
against the French for a generation. 

In 1642 they felt that their time had come. A great war party of 
the Iroquois invaded Canada with the avowed purpose of wiping out 
their long standing humiliation and disgrace. They came near de- 
stroying the French colonies and exterminating the Algonquins and 
possibly would have done so but for the timely arrival of soldiers 
from France. As it was, they killed great numbers of the French 
and Algonquins and took hundreds of prisoners, among the number 

i- 1/f '5. 



lOO EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

being" Father Jogues, a French Jesuit missionary to the Hiirons. 
The Iroquois took these prisoners home with them to be tortured 
for the entertainment of those who had been unable to go upon the 
expedition. The party returned through Lakes Champlain and 
George. Father Jogues was the first white man to see the last- 
named lake, which the Indians knew as "Place where the lake 
closes" and "Tail of the lake," both names evidently referring to 
its connection with Lake Champlain. The party reached the lake 
on the eve of a church holiday known as Corpus Christi, and this 
together with the beauty of the lake and the purity and clearness of 
its water, led Father Jogues to give it the name of Lake Saint Sacra- 
ment, a name which it bore for a hundred years. 

The tortures to which Father Jogues and his companions were 
subjected are almost beyond belief. Some had their clothing torn 
off, hair and beard plucked out, finger nails torn out by the roots, 
joints of their fingers cut off with clam shells, wounds torn open 
again and again. Many were compelled to run the gauntlet, 
while others were burnt at the stake. It is a horrible story, 
but one that can be paralleled many times in Indian history. We 
must not, however, assume that all the cruelty was the work 
of the Indians. Colden, speaking of the tortures inflicted upon 
the Indians, describes as horrible tortures as the Indians were 
ever guiltx' of. Hear what he says: "They first broiled his feet 
between two hot stones ; then they put his fingers into red hot 
pipes, and though he had his arms at liberty would not pull 
his fingers out; they cut his joints, taking hold of the sinews, 
twisted them round small bars of iron. At last they flead his scalp 
from his skull and poured scalding hot sand upon it." And again, 
"broiled the flesh of the prisoner's legs from his toes to his knees 
with the red hot barrel of a gun." This is not a description of tor- 
tures by Indians, but the torture of Indians by white people. 

Father Jogues was finally released through the efforts of the 
Dutch, who were on friendly relations with the Mohawks. Arent 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY lol 

Van Corlear of Schenectady, whose influence with the Iroquois was 
very great, and Dominie Megapolensis, the Dutch minister at Al- 
bany, were very prominent in securing the release of Father Jogues, 
who then went to France, but two years later returned as a mission- 
ary to the Mohawks, only to be cruelly murdered by those whom he 
was trying to serve. Parkman in speaking of him, says, "Thus died 
Isaac Jogues, one of the purest examples of Roman Catholic virtue 
which this western continent has seen." 

The Iroquois now carried on unceasing war against the French 
and Algonquins. A writer of the time says, "A man could neither 
hunt, fish, fell a tree, nor till the soil, in all Canada, without danger 
of being murdered by some lurking Iroquois." 

Famine and pestilence were added to the ravages of war till the 
spirit of the Algonquins was utterly broken. An Iroquois footprint 
was enough to fill them with terror. Father Vimont, writing of the 
condition at that time, said, "Where eight years ago one would see 
a hundred wigwams, one now scarcely sees five or six. A chief 
who once had eight hundred warriors has now but thirty or forty ; 
in place of fleets of three or four hundred canoes, we now see less 
than one-tenth of that number." It was said of the Iroquois at this 
time, that they were "the scourge of God upon the aborigines of 
the continent." 

The Iroquois exterminated the Fries, overthrew one Algonquin 
tribe after another, and finally drove the remainder under the walls 
of Quebec for protection, but even here they were not safe. Being 
driven out of the St. Lawrence valley they went to the shores of 
Lake Superior, but their insatiable enemies still pursued them and 
massacred great numbers of them at a place that is still known as 
Point Iroquois. The French suft'ered hardly less than the Algon- 
quins. It seemed as though the infant colony was destined to be 
destroyed. 



102 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

EXPEDITIONS AGAINST THE IROQUOIS 

It was clear that if the French colonies were to prosper, or even 
continue to exist, something must be done to check the incursions of 
the Iroquois. In 1666, Governor Courcelle, with a force of five 
hundred men, started on an expedition to the Mohawk country, but 
his force was too small and he started too late in the season. They 
did not leave Quebec till October, and winter was upon them before 
they reached Lake Champlain. The season was unusually severe 
and the men suffered terribly ; many having ears, noses, fingers, or 
feet frozen. The snow was deep and their progress very slow. All 
their supplies were carried on toboggans which the men drew slowly 
along over the trackless way. At night they made caves in the 
snow to protect themselves from the bitter wind that swept without 
resistance over the level surface of the lake. At their last stopping 
place before reaching the head of Lake George, their Algonquin 
guides became drunk and failed to keep up with the party. On 
reaching the head of the lake no one knew what route to take, and 
instead of going by way of the Kayadrosseras trail, which led 
directly into the jMohawk country by the way of the Sacandaga 
River, they took the route that led to Schenectady by the way of 
Saratoga. The expedition did not reach Schenectady till late in 
February, and the men were so worn out by their terrible journey 
that the whole party would have been killed by the Indians they 
came to punish, had it not been for the protection of the Dutch. 
After resting a few days they retraced their long and weary journey, 
with the Mohawks hovering in their rear. A few were killed by 
the Indians, some were taken prisoners, and more than fifty perished 
from cold and hunger. The expedition was a very unfortunate one. 
There had been great suffering and loss of life. The Indians had 
not been punished, though they had learned that their homes were 
not safe from attack. 

The year after this expedition, Tracy and Courcelle set out on 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 103 

another expedition against the Mohawks, this time with thirteen 
hundred men instead of five hundred. They started earher in the 
year so as to avoid the suffering which the previous expedition had 
experienced. They reached Lake Champlain in October. The 
contrast between the conditions which they found and those that 
the previous expedition had to contend with was very great. In- 
stead of the dead of winter, and a frozen lake covered with ice and 
snow, and swept by bitter winds, was the beautiful open lake over 
which the expedition passed easily in boats. The foliage of the 
sumacs and maples was gorgeous with its fall covering ; the oaks 
and the ashes added to the brilliant hues that made so pleasing a 
contrast to the dark greens of the pines and spruces. The little 
army was transported over the surface of the lake in a fleet of over 
three hundred boats and canoes. 

They landed at the head of Lake George at the place where Fort 
William Henry was built nearly a hundred years later. The route 
to the Mohawk towns was "through an unbroken forest, over moun- 
tains, through swamps, and across streams." Tracy was an old 
man not fit for such an expedition. He w^as attacked with gout, 
and at the same time Courcelle suffered from cramps. Both men 
had to be carried. After much hard work and a great deal of suffer- 
ing they reached the Mohawk country. But the Indians had learned 
of their approach and fled to the other Iroquois people, where they 
were obliged to spend the winter, as the French burned their towns, 
or "castles" as they were called, and destroyed all their provisions. 
Tracy planted a cross, erected the French arms, and claimed the 
country by right of conquest. 

These two expeditions of the French, and other acts on their 
part which extended through a series of years, so exasperated the 
Iroquois that in 1689 they fitted out a second great expedition for 
the invasion of Canada. It was even stronger than that of 1642, 
consisting of fifteen hundred warriors. So carefully had the expedi- 
tion been planned, so secretly were all the movements made, that the 



104 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

French did not dream of their approach. One night, early in 
August, during a violent hailstorm, the whole Indian force landed 
at Lachine, just above Montreal. "As vuiexpected as a thunderbolt 
from a clear sky came the frightful war-whoop. Then followed 
the most horrible massacre of Canadian history. All Canada was 
paralyzed with fear. For weeks the Iroquois roamed over the 
country, burning houses, destroying property, capturing or killing 
all the inhabitants found outside of Montreal and the forts in that 
section. When they withdrew they carried off great numbers of 
prisoners to be tortured in the towns of the Confederacy." More 
than a thousand of the French were killed during this expedition 
while the Iroquois lost only three men. 

The French government outlined a plan for the capture of the 
colony of New York in the fall of 1689. They were to gather a large 
army of French and Indians in Canada, and go down the lakes and 
capture Albany. They were then to go down the Hudson and cap- 
ture New York, and finally overrun the whole colony. They were to 
compel the Catholics to swear allegiance to the French, send the 
Huguenots back to France, and drive the remainder of the people 
into the woods and confiscate their property. When we recall how 
weak in numbers the colony was at that time, it will be seen that the 
plan of the French was quite feasible, but while it was maturing in 
France, something took place in this country. It was at this time 
that the great Iroquois invasion just described took place, and when 
the able, forceful, and energetic Frontenac, whom the French gov- 
ernment sent over to carry out its plans, arrived, he found that 
he had quite all that he could do to repair the damage which the 
Iroquois h.ad done. It seems clear that the colony of New York was 
saved to the English at this time by the Iroquois. The purposes of 
the French included more than has been related. After accomplish- 
ing what has already been given as their plan, they were to withhold 
all further sup])lies of firearms and ammunition from the Iroquois, 
and after the supply they had on hand was exhausted, they were to 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 



105 



be thoroughly subdued. Had Frontenac been sent to this country a 
year earHer these plans would doubtless have been successful. Had 
he come a year later it is possible that he would not have found any 
existing- French colony. Certainly it was fortunate for the French 
that at this time the incapable Denonville was succeeded by so 












INDIAN VILLAGE ON MANHATTAN ISLAND 



capable a man as Frontenac, for there was great danger that the 
colony would be utterly destroyed by the Iroquois. 

Frontenac fitted out several expeditions against the Iroquois 
and their allies. One was sent against Albany, but when it reached 
the head of Lake Champlain the Indians in the party insisted on 
being told whither they were being led, and when told refused to go, 
being mortally afraid of the "big guns" as they called the cannon. 
However, the force moved on, but when Saratoga was reached, the 
Indians turned in the direction of Schenectadv and there was noth- 



lo6 . EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

ing for the soldiers to do but follow. The expedition numbered 
only two hundred and ten, including- ninety-six Indians. It was 
mid-winter and the snow was very deep. A thaw set in and the 
men had to march in snow and slush knee deep. It was only thirty- 
seven miles from Saratoga to Schenectady, but it took nine days 
for the expedition to go that distance. Just before they reached 
Schenectady the weather changed. The snow fell in great, quanti- 
ties, the wind blew a gale, it became extremely cold, and the men 
were so chilled as to be almost helpless. There seemed to be no 
chance of their success. Had a small force appeared and demanded 
their surrender they would have been compelled to yield, but fortune 
favored them at the last moment. Although France and England 
were at war, and Schenectady was the most western outpost of the 
English, no provision for effective defence had been made. This 
was due to the political situation. There had been a revolution in 
England. King James fled to France and was succeeded by William 
and Mary. There were two parties in the colony. Lcisler repre- 
sented those opposed to King James. As the result of this contro- 
versy the people at Schenectady would not provide for the soldiers 
sent for their protection ; therefore, when a little after midnight 
on the 8th of February, 1690, the French and Indians appeared 
before the place there was not a man on guard, nor a gate closed. 
The surprise was complete. The massacre and pillage continued 
for two hours. In reporting the aft"air, Schuyler said, "No pen 
can write, and no tongue can express the cruelties that were com- 
mitted." Thirty-eight men, ten women, and twelve children were 
killed, and the remainder of the inhabitants, eighty or ninety in 
number, were taken prisoners. Of the eighty houses in the village 
all but two were burned. 

Later Frontenac sent a strong force into the Iroquois country 
and burned several of their villages. He was so vigorous in his 
attacks upon the Indians that the incursions of the Iroquois ceased, 
and the French became strongly established in Canada. 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 107 

IROQUOIS CHARACTERISTICS 

At no time were the Iroquois a numerous people. It is doubtful 
if they ever numbered as many as twenty thousand, but they were 
by far the most warlike of all the- Indians east of the Mississippi. 
They were the strongest, in many ways the noblest, and altogether 
the most interesting aboriginal people north of Mexico. They 
have fitly been called "The Romans of the West." They proudly 
called themselves "Ongwe-honwe," men surpassing all others. They 
were brave in battle, skilled as diplomats, and noted as warriors. 
With them war was the business of life. The council was largely 
a recreation, and fishing, hunting, and trapping, something that 
had to be done. They had great war captains like Brant and King 
Hendrick, and noted orators such as Red Jacket and Logan. They 
had a strong government, made permanent conquests, and es- 
tablished colonies. It is interesting to study some of the causes 
of their superiority. 

LOCATION 

The location of the Iroquois was a very important matter. They 
were situated on the high ground where the streams that found their 
final outlet in the Great Lakes, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, New York, 
Delaware, and Chesapeake Bays, and the Gulf of Mexico, had their 
origin. In their light birch bark canoes they could, by the means 
of short "carries," reach, by water, almost any part of the great 
territory which they dominated. Their attacks were made so sud- 
denly that their enemies had no warning of their approach and so 
were unprepared to meet them. They could readily concentrate their 
whole force at almost any point. They held what General Grant 
declared to be "the military key of the continent." 

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE IROQUOIS 

Neither their location, nor their character, nor both together 
could have made the Iroquois as pre-eminent as they were among 



Io8 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

the aboriginal inhabitants, without their form of government, which 
was a most remarkable organization for savages to effect. It re- 
sembled our own government to some extent. Each nation was a 
distinct republic so far as its own domestic affairs were concerned, 
but all were bound together in matters of general interest. 

The subdivision of each nation into clans, the Iroquois peculiar- 
ities of descent, and their marriage laws or customs were powerful 
factors in binding the nations together, and in developing a dem- 
ocratic spirit. Each nation was divided into eight clans known as 
the Wolf, Bear, Beaver, Turtle, Deer, Snipe, Heron, and Hawk 
clans. Of these the Tortoise, Bear, and Wolf were the most dis- 
tinguished. In each nation there were at least eight principal 
sachems, one for each clan. 

In making treaties the sachems affixed to the document in place 
of their signatures a rude drawing of the animal representing their 
clan. This was called their totem. There were in all fifty sachems, 
divided among the nations as follows : The Onondagas had fourteen. 
the Cayugas ten, the Mohawks and Oneidas nine each, and the Sen- 
ecas eight. When the Tuscaroras joined the League they were 
allowed to have sachems to manage their own local affairs, but these 
sachems were not permitted to become members of the general coun- 
cil and so give them a voice in the affairs of the Confederacy. The 
fifty sachems constituted what was known as the Council of the 
League. This combined the legislative, executive and judicial 
authority of the nation. 

The Council held an annual meeting in the autumn at Onondaga. 
Special meetings might be called at any time and held at any place. 
The Council declared war, made peace, received ambassadors, 
entered into treaties, in a word decided all matters of political, mili- 
tary, social, and religious action. In order to secure favorable 
action on any question it was necessary to have a unanimous affirm- 
ative vote of all the sachems present. 

In debate a speaker was never interrupted, and there was rarely 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 



109 



any heat. Each speaker presented his views in the best manner 
that he could, iisuahy repeating the substance of all that had been 
said by those who preceded him. This custom frequently made 
their debates tediously long. Important councils sometimes lasted 
for days. 

The whole body of sachems acting together managed the civil 
afifairs of the League and the sachems of each nation performed the 
same office for their respective peoples. The office of sachem was 
hereditary, but at the death of a sachem his successor did not enter 



fThiTrtht </M<-^,«, ,,/ 



(Th^ Tribn rfOtf BtarJ 




IROQUOIS TOTEMS 



upon the duties of his office till he had been "raised" by the Council 
with proper ceremonies. The name as well as the office was heredi- 
tary, each sachem bearing the name belonging to the original holder 
of the office. 

No sachem, in liis official capacity, could go to war. He had to 
lay aside his civil office, for the time being, if he wished to engage in 
warfare. 

Aside from the Council already spoken of, there was, at least dur- 
ing the later days of the Confederacy, what was known as the Great 
Council, consisting of one member from each of the nations, except 
the Senecas, who were allowed two on account of their greater num- 
bers. This council had only advisory powers. 



no EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Beside the sachems, there were the war-chiefs, chosen because of 
their valor, skill, or other merit. This office was not hereditary, 
nor was the number that might hold it limited. The war-chiefs were 
the military leaders of the Iroquois and were chosen from the best 
talent of the nation. Practically all the prominent warriors and 
orators belonged to it. Logan was the only sachem to make a name 
in history. 

When war was declared it was sometimes carried on by means 
of great expeditions carefully planned by the nation, but more fre- 
quently by smaller expeditions organized by individual chiefs. A 
war dance would be held, and some chief would organize a war- 
party made up of volunteers. Whether the party was large or small 
depended upon the popularity of the chief who was to lead it, and the 
feeling of bitterness against the foe who was to be attacked. If sev- 
eral chiefs at the same time organized expeditions against a common 
enemy, each war-party would act independently unless some strong 
will, or persuasive personage, secured complete control for the time 
being by common consent. It is evident that with such methods of 
conducting a war no large number could be induced to take part in 
one that was not popular. In this respect the Iroquois had the most 
democratic government possible. 

Neither the elected war-chief, nor the hereditary sachem liv^ed 
better than his fellows in any resju'ct. in fact he frequently fared 
worse because his position led him to be liberal as regarded the com- 
fort of others, even to the extent of impoverishing himself. The 
government of the Confederacy was an oligarchy in form, but dem- 
ocratic in spirit and action. There was no accumulation of wealth 
for the benefit of an individual, nor biting poverty for any, save 
when all suffered together. 

As has been the case with many civilized nations, the military 
authority sometimes overruled the civil. The war-chiefs added to 
their power and influence from time to time, till they nearly or quite 
equalled the sachems in this respect. 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY iii 

LINE OF DESCENT 

The line of descent was through the xyomen and not as with us 
through the men. All rank, titles and possessions, were inherited 
through the mother, not the father. No son could inherit anything 
from his father. This custom, together with the laws regarding 
marriage, resulted in a very democratic distribution of what little 
wealth the Indians had and bound firmly in the ties of kinship the 
whole confederacy. 

Upon the death of a sachem this hereditary office did not go to 
his son. The reason is obvious. The office really belonged to the 
nation. If a Alohawk of the Wolf clan, a sachem representing his 
clan and nation, married a Seneca woman of the Tortoise clan, his 
children were not Mohawks of the Wolf clan, but Senecas of the 
Tortoise clan, and could not of course hold any Mohawk office. 
Upon the man's death his title would go to the nearest male heir of 
his mother who was a Mohawk of the Wolf clan. 

HOME LIFE OF THE IROQUOIS 

\Mien a woman married she took her husband home to her 
tribe and clan, though he did not become a member of either ; that 
is if a Seneca Indian of the Hawk clan married a Mohawk woman 
of the Wolf clan, he went to live with the Mohawks, though he did 
not become a member of their tribe or of the Wolf clan, though his 
children would be Mohawks of the Wolf clan the same as their 
mother was. 

While the wife was in many ways the slave of her husband, she 
ruled the home, and if her husband proved to be lazy and failed to 
provide suitably for his family, or to do his part in maintaining the 
general welfare, she might at any time order him to take his blanket 
and leave, and if he was wise, as he usually was, he obeyed the 
order. After all life bore quite as severely upon the men as upon 
the women. They hunted for food, making long and laborious 



112 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

journeys ; protected their territory from their enemies ; and spent 
long seasons in the hard work of trapping. Jn all the nations there 
were more women than men, because on the whole life on the part of 
the men was one of greater trial and danger. 

In the lodge the Indian was a man of few words. He acknowl- 
edged the woman's right to rule there. If she was offended the 
Indian smiled ; if he w^as offended he walked out. The women, old 
men, and boys cultivated the fields and gathered the fuel. 

There was no individual ownership in land. Changes of loca- 
tion were made only as conditions compelled them. In the course 
of ten or a dozen years the bark covering of their houses would 
become rotten, the whole house would be infested with vermin, the 
soil would become somewhat exhausted, and available firewood 
would be scarce. A change of location involved much hard work. 
The Indians had no beasts of burden, and until after the coming of 
the white man, no metal tools. All cutting or working of wood had 
to be done with stone instruments or by means of fire. The parts 
of their houses were fastened together by tying with strings or ropes 
made of the fibre of the inner bark of trees. It is clear that the 
transportation of materials, the construction of houses, and the 
clearing of land, was a very slow and laborious process, and one to 
be dreaded. It is not to be wondered at that they lived in the old 
houses long after they were unfit for use. 

The Indians had no family names. A single name was given 
each ]5erson when young, to be replaced by another when maturity 
was reached. The power to change the name of a boy when he 
reached manhood rested with the chief, but it was sometimes done 
by the mother, or a sister, or a brother, but never by the father. It 
w^as usually done without the consent, or even the knowledge of the 
person concerned. An Indian was addressed as "my brother," or 
"my uncle," but never by his name. 

Much has been said of the eloquence of the Indians and it may 
not be amiss to give here the famous speech of the Cayuga chief 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 



H3 



Logan. Jefferson said of this speech, "I challenge the whole ora- 
tions of Demosthenes and Cicero, and of any more eminent orator, 
if Europe has furnished more eminent, to produce a single passage, 
superior to the speech of Logan." The speech is as follows : 

" I appeal to any ^\hite man to say if he ever entered Logan's cabin 
hungry, and he gave him not meat ; if he ever came cold and naked and he 
clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan 
remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for 
the whites that my countrymen pointed as they passed and said, ' Logan is 
the friend of the white man.' I had even thought to have lived with you, 
but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap the last spring, in cold 
blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not sparing 
even my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the 
veins of any living creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it. 
I have killed man3^ I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country 
I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbor a thought that mine is 
the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save 
his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one." 



THE LONG HOUSE 

The Iroquois Long House was quite unlike the houses of other 
Indians. It was made by setting two parallel rows of sapiings in 
the ground and bending the tops together in such a way as to form 
the framework of the sides and roof. The ends were made in a 
similar manner. This slender framework was strengthened by 
binding other saplings to it at right angles to the first. The whole 
surface, roof and sides, was then covered wdth sheets of bark, laid 
as we lay shingles, though the sheets of bark were much larger than 
the shingles which we use. The bark was held in place by having 
long saplings bound across it. Strings and ropes of bark were used 
for this purpose. The bark of the elm was most frequently used 
for covering, though that of the oak, spruce, and cedar was some- 
times used. The strings and ropes were generally made from the 
inner bark of the basswood. The houses were from eighteen to 



114 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



twenty-four feet in width, and from twenty to one hundred in length, 
or even longer in some cases. It was their unusual length rather 
than their form that gave them their name. 

On the inside the Long House was arranged something like a 
sleeping car with the berths made up but no curtains in place. In 
the longer houses there were cross-partitions every twenty feet or 
thereabouts. When the house was divided into sections by parti- 






n?^ 








) , ..,. 



THE IROQUOIS LONG HOUSE 



tions there were eight bunks in each section, four on each side, two 
above and two below. These bimks were used for beds at night 
and for a variety of purposes during the day. Doubtless some of 
them were used as storerooms. 

It has generally been supposed that each house was occupied by 
as many families as there were sections in the house, but some 
modern writers have doubted this. 

Van Corlear kept a diary, published a few years since, in which 
lie speaks of visiting the Mohawk towns as early as the middle of 
the seventeenth century, and finding in a single dwelling as much as 
three hundred bushels of corn in addition to other supplies. The 
reports of the number of inhabitants and houses in the Mohawk 
towns, or castles, made by different persons, w^ould indicate that 



THE IROOUOIS CONFEDERACY 



>>5 



it was not customary for more than one family to occupy the same 
lu)use. 

The houses were warmed in winter by building fires on the 
ground in one or more of the sections. The smoke escaped through 
holes or openings in the roof. The houses were very smoky, so 
much so as to seriously affect the eyes of the occupants, blindness, 
due to this cause, being very common in old age. 

The Iroquois were sometimes spoken of as the Brethren of the 
Long House. The territory occupied by them was sometimes called 
the Long tlouse, because its form somewhat resembled that of their 
houses, being much longer than it was wide. Because of their rela- 
tive positions in the territory occupied by the Confederacy, the 
Mohawks were sometimes called the keepers of the eastern door, 
and the Senecas the keepers of the western door, while the Onon- 
dagas were called the keepers of the central fire. 

THE FOOD OF THE INDIANS 

The staple food of the Iroquois was corn cooked without salt. 
Contrary to the general belief they did not live largely upon meat. 
\'enison was a luxury used at feasts, and meat of any kind was not 
plentiful. The Iroquois had three varieties of corn, red, common 
white, and white flint. Each variety had its special uses, being con- 
sidered better than the others for those purposes. The corn was pre- 
pared for food in various ways. They roasted it green on the cob 
as we sometimes do. They boiled it with beans and made a dish 
which we call succotash. They also picked the corn before it was 
fully ripe, partially roasted it, then removed it from the cob and 
dried it in the sun, after which they mixed it with one-third of its 
bulk of maple sugar, and groimd the mixture to flour. This made 
a very nourishing dish and a small quantity would sustain a person 
for a long time. For winter use they allowed the corn to ripen 
fully. They boiled it in water containing ashes, to loosen the hull, 
after which they washed it in clear water to remove the potash, then 



ii6 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

dried it and ground it to meal by means of a mortar and pestle. Of 
this meal they made bread in loaves about an inch thick and six 
inches in diameter. It was much like our Indian bread. 

The tribes to the west, notably the Cayugas and Senecas, raised 
much fruit, such as apples, peaches, plums, and pears. Sullivan 
on his expedition against the Indians destroyed a single peach 
orchard that contained sixteen hundred trees. All the tribes raised 
corn, beans, pumpkins, and squashes, the western tribes some other 
vegetables as well. Having plenty of cleared land the western tribes 
were enabled to engage in agriculture to an extent that those in the 
eastern part of the state, who had to clear the land they cultivated, 
could not possibly do. 

INDIAN INDUSTRIES AND INVENTIONS 

The Indians, having no knowledge of metals before the coming 
of the whites, made but little progress in the arts, though in some 
ways they displayed considerable powers of invention. The Iro- 
quois did not distinguish themselves in the art of pottery, though 
their women made a sort of earthen vessel for cooking, using clay 
in which some ground quartz was mixed. The Indian women were 
quite skilful in making various utensils from wooden splints, corn 
husks, or flags. 

Not having any metal tools the Indians were at a great disad- 
vantage in all their industries. When they wished to fell a tree 
they started a fire at its foot, and when the body became charred 
they would scrape away the burned portion, then start the fire again, 
and repeat the process till the tree fell. They would hollow out the 
trunk of a tree, or make wooden mortars, in the same way, hastening 
the process by the use of stone chisels and gouges. 

Barrels and trays, as well as canoes, were made of bark. The 
barrels were usually made of the inside bark of the red elm. and 
were very durable. They were used for holding corn, beans, dried 
fruit and other supplies. 




I. BARK tray; 2. MEAL SIEVE; 3 CORN HUSK BOTTLE; 4. BASKET; 
5. BOWL ; 6. LADLE ; 7. SPOON ; 8. LADLE ; 9. BARK TRAY ; lO. AXE ; 
II gouge; 12. STONE CHISEL ; 13. axe; 14. MORTAR AND I'ESTLE. 

117 



Ii8 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

The Indians made very strong- and serviceable ropes and straps 
of the inner bark of the ehn and the basswood. The bark was 
boiled in water containing ashes and then rinsed in clear water 
and dried. The fibre would be in long strips, sometimes several 
feet in length. 

The bark canoe w-as one of the most useful articles made by the 
Indians. The best ones were made of birch bark, though the bark 
of the elm and the hickory was also used, but they were much 
heavier, and liable to become warped out of shape. In the process 
of making a canoe the first step was to take from the tree a strip 
of bark as long as the canoe was to be. The rough outside part 
was smoothed ofif, and then the prepared bark was cut and bent into 
proper shape, and the seams stopped with pitch. The canoe was 
strengthened by placing wooden strips around the top both inside 
and out. It also had wooden ribs placed a few inches apart, and 
thin pieces of wood in the bottom to stand on. It required consid- 
erable skill to construct a good canoe. Some of the canoes were 
very small, only large enough to carry one or two people. Others 
were large enough to carry a load of two or three tons. Alost of 
the canoes were large enough to carry three or four people, yet they 
were so light they could be carried long distances by a single 
person. It was largely due to these light and swift canoes that the 
Iroquois were able to dominate as large an extent of territory as 
they did. 

The use of snow shoes enabled the Indians to make long journeys 
in the winter easily and rapidly. When the snow was soft enough 
to pack a little, or there was a slight crust, they could easily go fifty 
miles a day with these shoes. The snow shoe was made by taking 
a piece of ash or hickory about an inch in diameter, and some six 
feet long, and bending it so as to make a bow in front while the 
two ends came together in the rear. It was kept in shape by 
w^ooden cross-pieces near each end. The space between the cross- 
pieces was covered with a strong netting of woven deer thongs. 




s « 



I20 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

the meshes being about an inch in diameter. The ball of the foot 
was fastened to the fore part of the shoe, leaving the heel free. 

The Indians invented the baby frame which serves the same 
]nirpose as our baby carriages. The illustration shows one empty 
frame, and another containing an image, to show how the frame 
looks when occupied. The frame is made of wood, and is about two 
feet long, and from twelve to fourteen inches wide. The foot 
board was sometimes handsomely carved. There is a wooden bow 
over the top to keep the clothing from smothering the baby w^hen it 
is completely covered. In going from place to place the baby frame 
was strapped on the mother's back, and when the mother was at 
work the frame was hung from some support. It is said that the 
Indian babies would spend hours in these frames without complaint. 
Some of the frames were beautifully ornamented, and the clothing 
w^as sometimes very rich, though generally everything was as plain 
and simple as possible. 

No. 6 in the illustration on page itq is a baby frame which 
is of special interest because it is the one in which Ely Parker, 
the noted Seneca Indian, who served on General Grant's staff, 
passed his babyhood. This ])icture also shows several styles of 
moccasins and the elm bark fibre from which ropes were made. 
The moccasin is an invention that does the Indian much credit. It 
is far easier for the feet than most of the shoes which we wear. It 
is made of a single piece of skin with seams at the top and heel 
only. 

Perhaps the most remarkable skill displayed by the Indians was 
in the making of spear and arrow heads from flint, with only stones 
for instruments. They also made tomahawks, battle axes, knives, 
chisels, and gouges, from stone, many of them being made from 
flint. Most of their pipes were of a kind of black pottery, though 
some of them were made of soap stone. 

The Iroquois used two kinds of war clubs, one, that shown 
in the cut, of wood, about two feet in length, having at the end 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY I2i 

a ball four or five inches in diameter. The other form of club 
had a sharp pointed bit of deer's horn, about four inches long, 
near the end of the club. In later clubs iron or steel was substi- 
tuted for deer's horn. The war club gave way to the tomahawk, 
as the bow and arrow were replaced by the rifle. The tomahawk 
is not an Indian invention, though a favorite weapon. The stone 
tomahawk was made by cutting a deep groove in the stone head 
and fastening it to a wooden handle by means of withes or 
thongs. The metal tomahawk was usually made of steel, though 
sometimes iron or brass was used. The handle of the tomahawk 
was often handsomely ornamented ; sometimes carved, sometimes 
inlaid with silver. The blade was often inlaid with silver, and fre- 
quently surmounted with a pipe bowl. 

The Indians became very skilful in the use of the tomahawk. 
It was their emblem of war. They spoke of raising the hatchet, 
instead of declaring war ; and of burying the hatchet, rather than 
of making peace. 

The illustration on page 123 shows a very old Indian bow and a 
quiver of arrows, also a bow and arrows of more modern make, 
though the latter are the style of one hundred and fifty years ago. 
The Indian bow was from three to four feet in length, usually made 
of hickory, and so stiff that great strength was required to use it. It 
would send an arrow with force sufficient to kill deer and other large 
animals. Indian skeletons have been found in which the skull had 
been pierced with an arrow head. The arrows were about three feet 
long, tipped with horn, bone, or flint, most frequently the latter, and 
feathered at the small end, the feathers sometimes being arranged 
in a spiral to make the arrow revolve in its flight and so secure 
greater accuracy. 

Among the other inventions of the Indians was a large two- 
handed wooden pounder for grinding corn. 

The Indians, like all other primitive people, had rude means for 
starting fire. They used a fire drill which Morgan describes as 



122 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

follows : "It consisted of an upri,c^lit shaft, about four feet in length, 
an inch in diameter, with a small wheel set upon the lower part to 
give it momentum. In a notch at the top of the shaft was set a 
string, attached to a bow about three feet in length. The lower 
point rested upon a block of dry wood, near which were placed small 
pieces of punk. When ready to use, the string is first coiled round 
the shaft by turning it with the hand. The bow is then pulled 
downwards thus uncoiling the string, and revolving the shaft toward 
the left. By the momentum given to the wheel, the string is again 
coiled up and in a reverse manner the bow is again drawn up." 
This action was repeated again and again and in a short time sparks 
were produced. The motion of this drill was produced on the same 
principle as that of a little toy formerly used by boys, which con- 
sisted of a circular disk of tin or other metal having two holes in 
it, one a little each side of the centre. A string was passed through 
these holes and the ends tied together. Taking the string in each 
hand, with the disk between them, motion was produced by turning 
the disk round and round till the string was thoroughly twisted, 
then the hands were thrown far apart and immediately brought 
toward each other again, and this motion was repeated continually, 
the string twisting and untwisting with each reversed movement 
causing the disk to revolve rapidly. 

INDIAN GAMES 

The Indians were great gamblers and very fond of games. It 
was no uncommon thing for an Indian to lose his tomahawk, orna- 
ments, blankets, and all his other possessions in games of chance. 
The games, however, were not usually ]ilayed between individuals, 
but between one nation and another, one clan and another, or one 
village and another. They were sometimes between men and 
women. The Indians would come for miles to witness these con- 
tests. Their games were of two general classes, athletic, and games 
of chance. The former included running, leaping, wrestling, ball, etc. 




bow; 2. BOW CASE AND QUIVER", 3. ARROWS; 4. JAVELIN; 5. LACROSSE 

stick; 6. SNOW snake; 7, snow shoe; 8. birch bark canoe. 

123 



124 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Ball, as played by the Indians, was similar to our modern game 
of lacrosse. Thowing the javelin was a popular game. It con- 
sisted in trying to throw the javelin, a wooden instrument made of 
hickory or ash, through a wooden ring as it was rolled rapidly past 
the player. The ring was about eight inches in diameter. The jav- 
elin was about five or six feet long, and three-quarters of an inch 
in diameter. The ring was rolled past the holder of the javelin at 
some little distance from him. and as it was cjuite small and rolled 
very rapidly it took a good eye and a quick hand to pass the javelin 
through it. 

Deer Buttons was a fireside game which was played with eight 
circular deer horn buttons about an inch in diameter and one-eighth 
of an inch in thickness, having bevelled edges. One side of the 
buttons was white and the other black. The Indians threw the deer 
buttons much as we throw dice. Each player continued his play 
as long as he made any count. They began the game with a pool of 
from one to three hundred beans as counters. Each player drew 
from the pool as he made points. When the pool was exhausted 
the game was finished and the winner was the one who had the most 
beans. Eight buttons were used. If all came up the same color, 
no matter which, the thrower drew twenty beans ; if seven were of 
one color, the count was four, while six of the same color counted 
one. Less than six of one color did not count at all. 

The gaiue of peacl] stones was played in a similar manner, save 
that the stones instead of being thrown from the hand were put 
into a wooden bowl which ^^'as struck on the ground with sufficient 
force to cause the stones to rebound. The peach stones were ground 
to a flattened form and one side blackened. This game was some- 
times used to foretell the harvest, in which case the men played 
against the women. If the women won, the ears of corn would be 
short and the harvest poor, but if the men were the winners it sig- 
nified a bounteous harvest and ears of corn of unusual length. The 
illustration on page 117 shows a wooden bowl used for playing the 



THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY 125 

game of peach stones. It is made from a black walnut gnarl. It 
would seem that the game of peach stones did not involve any skill, 
but such was not the case. Some players were marvellously skilful 
and seemed to be able to make the stones come up almost as they 
wished. 

The snow snake was a winter game, the snake being a wooden 
rod from five to seven feet long, and about a fourth of an inch in 
thickness, with the larger end turned up. The game was to see 
who could send it over the snow for the greatest distance. An ex- 
pert player could slide it a distance of sixty or eighty rods. 

The Indians excelled in the foot race, it being both an amuse- 
ment and an accomplishment of great practical value. 

Among the other games of the Indians were blind man's bufif, fox 
and geese, a game played in the snow, and interlocking violets, the 
latter played only by the children. This is an amusement with 
which most country children are familiar. The Indians decided 
who should be the first to bat at a game of ball by one tossing up 
the club and the other catching it with one hand, then alternately 
putting above first the hand of one player, then the other, the last 
one who was able to hold the club being the batter. This practice 
is general with white boys. 

WAMPUM 

The use of wampum was an important feature of Indian life. 
It was used for ornament, for monc}-, as a token of condolence, as a 
badge of authority, and for council purposes. While some of the 
early wampum was made of colored wood, or quills, and much at 
various times was made from different kinds of shells, most of that 
which we ordinarily meet with was made from the hard shell clam. 
The wampum is of two colors, white and black, the so-called black 
being really a dark purple. The black was twice as valuable as the 
white. 



126 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

The wampum was made in the form of tuhes or beads strung on 
fibres of bark or the sinews of deer. It was also made into belts by 
covering- one side of a strip of deer skin with wampum beads 
arranged in various patterns or devices. The belts were much more 
highly prized than the strings. A full string of wampum is usually 
three feet long. A belt four or five feet long and four inches wide 
would contain several thousand beads. 

In general, the white wampum was symbolical of purity, peace, 
victory, and all that was good and desirable, while the purple was 
indicative of death, war, or evil tidings. There were, however, 
many exceptions to this general rule. 

When treaties were made with the Indians many speeches were 
made by each side, and these speeches were accompanied with gifts 
of wampum belts. Any fact that it was desired to make impressive 
was emphasized by the presentation of a belt of wampum. 

Each of the Iroquois nations had its own special string of wam- 
pum, distinguished by the number of the strings and the arrange- 
ment of colors. The Six Nations were represented by strings 
of purple wampum. These strings were united at one end, and 
the free ends were ornamented with tufts of bright merino. At the 
opening of a council these strings were laid upon a table, or on 
the ground, with the free ends radiating from the centre like the 
spokes of a wheel. 

The Mohawks were represented by six strings of wampum, two 
purple beads alternating with one of white. 

The Cayugas were represented by six strings made wholly of 
purple beads. The Oneidas and Tuscaroras were each represented 
by seven strings made almost wholly of purple beads. The Onon- 
dagas were represented by four strings having two purple beads to 
one of white. The Senecas were represented by four strings hav- 
ing alternately two white and two purple beads. 

A double string of forty-eight alternate white and purple beads 
indicated the death of a good chief. 




I, WAR club; 2 AM) 3, '!'OM A II AWKS ; 4, 5, AXD 6, WAMPUM EKLTS; 7, 8, 

9, 10, II, 12 AND 13, PIPiiS; 14, 15, 16, 17 AND 18, ARROW AND 

SPEAR HEADS. 

127 



128 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Two strands of eighteen beads eacli, all but four purple, were 
used in raising" a chief. 

Eight strings were used in the confession of sins at a feast. 

When a chief died runners were sent out to the other nations 
bearing strings of wampum, the kind of strings showing the relativ^e 
rank of the chief. 

Strings of wampum served as credentials. They were, so to 
speak, letters of introduction and badges of authority. 

In 1648 Alassachusetts made wampum legal tender to the amount 
of forty shillings. It was accepted in lieu of money in several of 
the other colonies. 

Much regarding the Iroquois will be given in the sketches of Sir 
William Johnson and Joseph Brant and are therefore better omitted 
from this article. The following extract from Alfred Street's met- 
rical romance "Frontenac" will be enjoyed if the reader remembers 
the names of the various clans, and the other tribes with whom the 
Iroquois were engaged in war. 

"The fierce Adirondacks had fled from their wrath, 
The Hurons been swept from their merciless path. 
Around, the Ottawas, like leaves, had been strown, 
And the lake of the Eries struck silent and lone. 
The Lenape, lords once of valley and hill, 
Made women, bend low at their conqueror's will. 
By the far Mississippi the Illini shrank 
When the trail of the Tortoise was seen on the bank. 
On the hills of New England the Pequod turned pale 
When the howl of the Wolf swelled at night on the gale. 
And the Cherokee shook, in his green smiling bowers, 
When the foot of the Bear stamped his carpet of flowers." 



SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 

1715-1774 

In telling the story of the Iroquois Confederacy much regard- 
ing the life and influence of this people was omitted, as it could be 
given best in connection with the story of the life of Sir William 
Johnson, it being so closely related with 
his work as to be most fittingly and 
effectively told in this way. To many, 
probably the majority, of the readers of 
this sketch Sir William Johnson is only 
a name, yet he was one of the very 
ablest men who lived in this country 
previous to the Revolution ; perhaps no 
other in his time so largely influenced 
the fortunes of our state. 

He was born at Warrenpoint, County 
Down, Ireland, in 1715. His father, 
Christopher Johnson, was an officer in 
a regiment of heavy cavalry. His 
mother, Anne Warren, was a sister 
of Sir Peter Warren of the Royal Navy. 
Johnson's parents wished him to enter 
the army, but he preferred the law and began his studies which 
he pursued until he was ready to take his examination for admis- 
sion to the bar, but at that time his uncle made him a business 
proposition which changed the whole course of his life. 

This incident is told of his boyhood. When he was eleven 
years old he and his mother visited his uncle. Sir Peter, who made 




SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 

From a Portrait in the Library of the 
New York Historical Society 



I2q 



I30 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

at that time the following entry in his journal : "\'isiting me Mistress 
Nancy Johnson, with her young Son, William, aged eleven. Wil- 
liam is a Spritely Boy, well grown, of good parts. Keen Wit but 
Most Onruly and Streperous ! I see in him the Makings of a 
Strong Man. Shall keep my Wether Eye on this lad!" 

MANAGER OF HIS UNCLE'S ESTATE 

About 1733 Sir Peter Warren purchased a large tract of land 
on the south side of the Mohawk River, a little to the west of the 
present city of Schenectady. By 1737 it had so increased in value 
and importance that it needed to be looked after, so Warren offered 
the management of the estate to his nephew. Young Johnson 
gladly accepted the offer and abandoned the idea of practising law. 
Sir Peter gave his nephew power of attorney "to buy and sell or 
lease real estate, to incur debts or pay demands, and in all respects 
to do all things in the name of Peter Warren, the same and with 
equal validity and binding force as if the said Peter Warren had 
done them with his own hand and under his own seal." 

Johnson started for his new field of labor and reached New 
York in December, 1737. Pie spent the winter in that city with his 
aunt, the wife of Sir Peter. She was the daughter of Stephen 
DeLancey, one of the wealthiest merchants of the city. The family 
belonged to the most refined and aristocratic circles, and Johnson 
formed acquaintances at that time which were of great value to 
him in after life. 

It was in the spring of 1834 that Johnson reached his uncle's 
estate and took charge of affairs. He founded a settlement which 
the Dutch called Warrensbush, and the English Warrensburgh. 
The hamlet has long since ceased to exist. Sir Peter's property was 
in the heart of the IMohawk country. Nearly all the whites there 
were Dutch. Johnson was expected to make the estate profitable 
by acting as trader, farmer, and to some extent manufacturer. To 
do this he needed to know his neighbors thoroughly and to be able 



SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 131 

to speak their language fluently. He bent all his energies to this 
task, and at the end of two years he was able, not merely to speak 
the Dutch and Indian languages, but he did it so well that he could 
act as interpreter on any occasion. This gave him a great advan- 
tage over his Dutch competitors. He not only knew the language of 
the Indians but he had become acquainted with their ways, manners, 
modes of thinking, and character, to a degree never excelled, if 
equalled, by any other white man. He was one of the very few 
whites who were always honorable in their dealings with the Indians, 
the only one in his section at that time. Because of this his influ- 
ence with them was almost unbounded and continued to be so till 
the day of his death. This influence he always used for the advan- 
tage of the English. It is not too much to say that on several occa- 
sions it was solely through his ability to control the Six Nations that 
they were kept from open warfare against the English. 

Young Johnson was active in developing his uncle's property 
and in guarding its interests. He saw that it would not be profitable 
to keep the estate together as a whole, and won from Sir Peter a 
somewhat reluctant permission to sell ofif farms, instead of letting 
the land on long leases as was then the custom in European coun- 
tries. In the dozen years following the beginning of Johnson's 
management of the estate, about two-thirds of the grant was sold 
off in farms of from one hundred and fifty to three hundred acres 
each. At the death of Sir Peter in 1752 Johnson acquired posses- 
sion of the remainder. 

MAKING A HOME 

Parkman says Johnson was born to prosper, being ambitious, 
energetic, strong, and jovial. He was quick-witted, genial, and 
honorable in all his business affairs. He possessed great powers of 
adaptability, being equally at home with the Mohawk Indians, the 
Dutch farmers, and the Royal governors. 

He remained at Warrensburg for five years, but he never in- 



132 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

tended to make his permanent home there, nor did he intend to spend 
his hfe as an agent managing an estate for another. 

During the first two years of his residence on his uncle's estate 
Johnson lived in a rude log hut. lie spent most of his winters in 
hunting and trapping with the Indians. He lived their life, sat at 
their council fires, and joined in their sports. Any Mohawk was 
welcome at his hut any hour of the day or night, and the same 
thing was true when he came to occup}- his house at Akin. 

About two years after taking charge of his uncle's estate, John- 
son bought a tract of several thousand acres of land on the north 
side of the Ivlohawk, a little to the west of the present city of Am- 
sterdam, at a place now known as Akin. He immediately began 
the erection of a large stone mansion which was sometimes called 
"Mount Johnson" and sometimes "Fort Johnson." The house is 
still standing and is in a good state of preservation. It is only a 
few rods from the track of the Central Railroad, and can be seen 
bv passengers sitting on the right side of the car when going west. 
It was at this house that Johnson held many of his councils with the 
Indians. 

Soon after building his license at .\kin, Johnson erected a saw 
mill and a grist mill on the stream near by. 

While' managing his uncle's estate he had built up a large 
business sending furs to London, and Hour to the West Indies and 
Halifax. His trade with the Indians was very profitable. He had 
so won their confidence and esteem by his honorable dealings with 
them that he always had the first choice of the furs the}' had to sell 
and he received at their hands many favors that were not granted 
to others. They all liked and trusted hini. Thirty years later, at 
Johnson's grave, a Mohawk sachem said "Sir William Johnson never 
deceived us." 

Johnson's early life in this country was in no way remarkable, 
but he was preparing himself for the work which the coming years 
were to bring to him. While he was so successfully managing his 



SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 



133 



uncle's estate he was also developing his own and he became a man 
of large means for those times. 

Soon after occupying his new house at Akin he married Cath- 
erine Weisenburg, a plain country German girl, greatly his inferior, 
socially and intellectually, but they seem to have lived together hap- 
pily. She died some years later leaving a son and two daughters. 




MOUNT JOHNSON 



The son was the Sir John Johnson who was so active in the Mohawk 
valley during the Revolution, and one of the daughters married her 
cousin. Sir Guy Johnson. These two men are not likely to be for- 
gotten as long as the history of the Mohawk valley is remembered. 
For a vivid picture of the times in which they figured so promi- 
nently one can hardl>- do better than to read Harold Frederic's 
"In the Valley." 

y\ll through his life Sir William was noted for the energy with 
which he went at any task, liis work at Akin gives some idea of 



134 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

this characteristic of his. Within two years from the time he pur- 
chased the property he had cleared over five Inindred acres of 
land, constructed a large dam, erected a saw mill capable of cut- 
ting fifteen hundred feet of lumber in a day, and built a flouring 
mill, besides erecting a fine stone mansion, so well built that now, 
one hundred and sixty years later, it is still a very creditable build- 
ing. All this work was done in a wild, uncultivated and unsettled 
country. To accomplish this he brought over from Ireland about 
sixty families. He paid their expenses over and had comfortable 
log cabins ready for them on their arrival. 

After the death of his wife, Johnson lived with the daughter of 
the Mohaw^k chief Abraham. She died after a few years and from 
that time till his death Johnson lived with Molly Brant, an older 
sister of Joseph Brant. He never married her, though there is 
no question but that both Molly Brant and the Mohawks thought 
the relation a lawful one, and it is probable that it was in accordance 
with Indian laws and customs. 

Molly Brant was a very remarkable woman. She does not seem 
to have appeared at a disadvantage under any circumstances, though 
she was often thrown in contact with men and women of the highest 
social standing. Sir William always treated her with the greatest 
respect and insisted that every one else should do the same. 

There was much in the life of Sir William that would not be 
tolerated to-day, and the same is true of nearly every one who lived 
in his time. Customs have changed and if we are to judge him 
fairly we need to remember the times in which he lived, and the cir- 
cumstances in which he was placed. It is quite probable that his 
life was determined in many ways by considerations of public pol- 
icy, as the well-being of the English in this colony depended very 
largely upon the attitude of the Iroquois, and that in turn depended, 
at times, almost wholly upon the influence of Sir William over 
them; therefore, a IMohawk woman presiding over his household 
would enable him to keep in closer touch with the Indians than 



SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 135 

would otherwise be possible. ]\Ir. Reid, the author of "The Mo- 
hawk Valley," believes that Sir William was actuated by such con- 
siderations in his relations with Molly Brant. 

Sir A\'illiam was always very active in looking after the interests 
of the Indians. He found that the Indian traders cheated them 
shamefully and that this was primarily due to the inefficiency of the 
Board of Commissioners. There was no system in their manage- 
ment. Any one who was in favor with the Commissioners or who 
would pay the small license fee required could obtain a permit to 
trade with the Indians. No attempt was made to ascertain the 
character of the applicant. As a perfectly natural consequence 
the Indian trade had fallen almost wholly into the hands of dis- 
reputable and unprincipled men who had no regard either for law 
or for common honesty. The Board of Indian Commissioners was 
made up of five men. In 1743 Governor Clinton appointed John- 
son a member of this board, and with this appointment his public 
life began, and it is with that we are chiefly concerned. At this time 
the law provided that at least one member of the Indian Board must 
be a clergyman. 

The clerical member at the time of Johnson's appointment was 
a resident of New York, and he neither knew nor cared much about 
Indian affairs. He resigned soon after Johnson became a member 
of the board and the Governor appointed in his place Johnson's 
father-in-law, the Reverend Jacob Weisenburg. 

Mr. Weisenburg had lived among the Indians for a long time 
and was much beloved by them, so that now they had two of their 
friends to look after their interests, but a majority of the board 
was still of the old type. However, another member of the board 
soon resigned, and in his place the Governor appointed Reverend 
Mr. Van Ness of Albany. This appointment gave Johnson a work- 
ing majority on the board and enabled him to institute reforms in the 
management of the Indian affairs. Dishonest traders were dis- 
missed, the sale of liquor to the Indians forbidden, and missions 



136 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

and mission schools established. At one time there were twenty- 
six men in the jail at Albany serving sentences of various lengths 
for the violation of the Indian anti-liquor law. In 1744 Johnson 
wrote Governor Clinton as follows : 

"You can make a pretty good and generally faithful fellow of an Indian 
by simply treating him fairly in business matters and helping him along now 
and then when his natural indolence or improvidence or bad luck has brought 
him to straits. But you can never completely depend upon him or overcome 
the inherent fickleness of his nature until you have made a Christian of him 
and brought him thereby under that sense of personal responsibility, not 
only to men but to the Almighty, which religion teaches. Either in war or 
in peace one Christian Indian is always worth two heathen ones." 

IN PUBLIC LIFE 

Johnson was so successful as a member of the Indian Board that 
the Governor soon gave him complete control of the Indian afifairs 
of the colony. He was an ideal man for the position, not only 
well fitted for it by nature, but his training had been just that 
needed to enable him to deal wisely with the Indians. Xo other 
man in the colony knew them as well as he did. He knew their 
language, their lives, their habits, their wishes, their strength and 
their weakness. Could he have been unhamjiered there would have 
been no serious Indian troubles, but the vacillating policy of the 
British government on the one hand, and the jealousies existing 
between the Governor and the Assembly on the other, made John- 
son's position one of constant embarrassment. This lack of concord 
in the colony, and the growing antipathy to the rule of Great 
Britain, prevented Johnson from receiving much su]:)port in his 
efforts. While the Assembly seciued to have confidence in him per- 
sonally, it was not disposed to support his measures on account of 
his being the Governor's appointee. 

In order to keep the Six XatitMis loyal to the English it was 
necessary to conform to their customs in a large degree. Frequent 
councils must be held. At these meetings speeches must be luadc. 



SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 1 37 

belts of wampum given as pledges, and presents made as tokens of 
friendship. The Indians had to be provided with arms and ammu- 
nition for their various expeditions. All these expenditures were 
made by Johnson acting as Indian Commissioner. They were legiti- 
mate expenses, and as things were managed in those days, abso- 
lutely necessary. No one questioned the propriety of Johnson's 
acts, yet the Assembly refused to reimburse him. 

At this time the Mohawks became very sullen toward the Eng- 
lish and it required all the skill of Johnson to restore friendly feel- 
ings. It was then that Johnson began his life with Molly Brant. 
He became an Indian with the Indians. He assumed their garb, 
joined in their games, and lived among them as one of their own 
people. He so won their favor that they adopted him into their 
nation and gave him the rank of a war-chief. As such he assembled 
them at festivals, appointed war dances, and joined in their orgies. 

Notwithstanding his great services, and his popularity with the 
Six Nations, the Assembly refused to repay him the sums he had 
advanced, and finally, when the amount had reached £2,000, John- 
son was forced to resign in order to avoid becoming bankrupt. 

In June, 1748, Governor Clinton appointed Johnson Colonel-in- 
Chief of Albany county, and when it is remembered that at that 
time Albany county included all of the present state of Vermont 
and all of what now constitutes the state of New York to the west 
and north of Dutchess and Ulster counties, it will be seen that the 
appointment was an important one, not alone because of the great 
extent of territory involved, but even more because it was the 
theatre of all the Indian wars of the colony at that time. Johnson 
efTected a county military re-organization that lasted till the time 
of the Revolution. Five regiments and twelve separate companies 
were organized. A military road was built from the head of Lake 
George to Glens Falls on the Hudson River, and another road from 
the head of Lake Champlain to Fort Anne, from which point there 
was alreadv a road to Sandv Ilill on the Hudson. 



138 EARLY NEW. YORK HISTORY 

The apparent indifference of the English, added to the move- 
ments of the French in the Ohio valley, finally so aroused the Six 
Nations that King Hendrick, of the Mohawks, went to New York 
to see the Governor. He announced that the Six Nations had 
broken with the English, and expressed his utter lack of faith in the 
Assembly, closing his remarks with these words : "Look about your 
country and see : you have no fortifications about you ; no, not even 
in this city ! Look at the French ; they are men ; they are fortify- 
ing everywhere, but, we are ashamed to say it, you are all like 
women, bare and open wathout any fortifications." 

The Governor sent copies of this speech to the Assembly. They 
were so badly frightened that they requested the Governor to call 
a council at Albany, and to appoint Colonel Johnson to go in haste 
to the Indians and arrange to have them attend. This was done. 
The Indians, who had been greatly dissatisfied ever since Johnson 
had resigned as Indian Commissioner, received him joyfully, and 
agreed to attend the council at such time as the Governor chose to 
call it, "but," said King Hendrick, "we would not have moved a foot 
for any other man than you." 

War between France and England had not been declared at 
the opening of the year 1755, but it was evident that peace could 
not long continue. In the west the French had occupied and forti- 
fied territory that was claimed by the English. Braddock was on 
his way to America with two regiments of troops, and the French 
had sent Baron Dieskau to Canada with a large body of men. There 
had also been a conflict upon the sea which resulted in the capture 
of two French vessels. 

The Governor of the colony of New York called the Assembly 
together and reminded it of the utterly defenceless condition of the 
whole northern frontier, and of Albany and New York as well. 
The fears of the Assembly outweighed their jealousies and they 
promptly voted the funds needed to make provision for the expected 
conflict. The Mohawks complained to Colonel Johnson that there 



SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 139 

were no fortifications in their territory and asked for aid in the mat- 
ter. Their communication was presented to the Assembly which 
directed the Governor to appoint Colonel Johnson to make investi- 
gations and take such steps as he found to be necessary to provide 
adequate defence. 

In the meantime General Braddock arrived in this country. For 
the purpose of consultation he called together the governors of 
New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Alaryland, and Virginia. 
Two other eminent men, Benjamin Franklin and Sir William John- 
son, met with them. Four expeditions were planned. Governor 
Lawrence was to reduce Nova Scotia ; Governor Shirley, of Massa- 
chusetts, was to expel the French from Niagara; Braddock was to 
recover the Ohio valley ; while Johnson was to capture Crown Point. 
All these expeditions, save that of Johnson, were utter failures, 
and his was only partially successful. 

Braddock made Johnson a Major General, and appointed him 
Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the whole of British North 
America. He was given full power to treat with the Indians, and 
allowed £2,000 for necessary expenses. 

Johnson's first act was to send belts of wampum to all the 
Indian castles to announce his appointment as Superintendent of 
Indian Aflfairs and summon a grand council to meet at his home 
at Mount Johnson. The Indians were urged to assemble at the 
earliest day possible. The news that Johnson was again in charge 
of their affairs spread like wildfire among the Indians. In a short 
time more than eleven hundred Indians, men, women, and children, 
were at Johnson's home. Never before had so many met in a 
council with the whites. It taxed Johnson's resources to the ut- 
most to furnish means for the entertainment of such a multitude. 

Johnson addressed the Indians, explaining the purpose of the 
various expeditions, and asked for a thousand picked Iroquois war- 
riors to accompany him against Crown Point. They were prom- 
ised him, and their leader was to be King Hendrick. In addition 



I40 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

to the Indians, Johnson was to liave troops from New York, Mas- 
sachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. Altogether his force 
was to consist of four thousand five hundred men. 

There were many vexatious delays, and jealousies caused much 
trouble. Massachusetts furnished more men than any of the other 
colonies and therefore felt that the chief command should be given 
to a man from that state rather than to one from New York. 
Besides this, Governor Shirley succeeded in diverting to his expedi- 
tion against Niagara many of the Iroquois who were promised to 
Johnson. 

Early in August, Colonel Lyman, who commanded the troops 
from Massachusetts, and was second in command of the expedition, 
reached the falls in the Hudson at what was known as "the great 
carrying place." This was about fifteen miles from the head of 
Lake George, and somewhat farther from the head of Lake Cham- 
plain, in either case a long distance for a " carry," whence the name. 
Here Lyman erected a fort whicli he named Fort Edward, in honor 
of a brother of the King. Tlierc is now a thriving village of several 
thousand inhabitants at this ]ilace. Johnson joined Lyman a few 
days later, but instead of a thousand Iroquois he had only about two 
hundred and fifty. Others came later, but in all not over five hun- 
dred Indians took part in this expedition. Among the number 
were the venerable King Ilendrick, nearly eighty years of age, and 
Joseph Rrant, then a lad of thirteen. 

Johnson reached Lake George on the 28th of August with 
thirty-four hundred men, having left Lyman at Fort Edward with 
a small force to await the arrival of some belated troops. Althougli 
Lakes George and Champlain had lon.g been the route for all com- 
munication between Canada and New York, the shores of Lake 
George were an unbroken wilderness at this time. Not a building 
of any kind had ever been erected there nor a foot of land cleared. 
At the head of the lake was a blufi" with low swampy land on either 
side of it. Here Johnson built a fort which he called Fort William 



SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 



141 



Henry in honor of another brother of the King. The lake which 
for more than a hundred years had borne the name Lake Saint 
Sacrament, given it by Father Jogues, was re-named Lake George 
in honor of the King. 

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prominent. 

Colonel Lyman soon followed Johnson, bringing with him all 
the heavy artillery, but leaving at Fort Edward five New York 
companies, and about two hundred and fifty New England troops. 

It was Johnson's plan to erect a fort at Lake George and hold it 
till he could build a fleet of boats to carry his forces to Ticonderoga, 
where he planned to erect another fort so as to protect the country 
from invasions from the north in case he failed to capture Crowu 
Point. 



142 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



The French, however, did not wait for him ; but Dieskau with a 
force of about sixteen hundred men, made up of Indians, Canadian 
militia, and French regulars, went up Lake Champlain nearly to 
its head. From this point it was his intention to march across 
the country to Fort Edward and capture it, then attack Johnson 
in the rear, and after defeating him, as he fully expected to do, 
march on Albany. The plan was well conceived, but the country 
through which he marched was densely wooded, and he failed to 
keep the proper direction. When he reached a place where it was 
sufficiently open for him to know just where he was, he found 
himself only a few miles from Lake George, instead of near Fort 
Edward. In the meantime Johnson had learned of his movements 
and had sent a courier to warn the garrison at Fort Edward, but 
this messenger was captured by Dieskau who was thus informed as 
to the whole situation. After some consultation the French decided 
to attack Johnson, who had in the meantime determined to rein- 
force Fort Edward. Johnson proposed to send out twelve hundred 
men in three detachments. King Hendrick opposed this vigorously, 
saying that the whole force should be together so as to be stronger, 
illustrating his idea by taking three sticks which he could not break 
all together, but did it easily when he took one at a time. He also 
insisted that the force was too small. He said, 'Tf they are to 
fight they are too few, if they are to l)e killed they are too many." 

The relieving force started in three detachments as planned, 
Colonel Williams being in charge of the advance. After going 
about two miles Williams waited till the other detachments came 
up. The whole body then moved on, unsuspicious of danger. 
Thousfh thev knew the enem\- was not man\- miles awav no skir- 
mishers were thrown out. No scouts went in advance. Dieskau 
had learned of the movement and had planned an ambuscade about 
four miles from the lake. The English blindly entered it, but before 
all were in the trap some one accidentally fired a shot which was 
taken as the signal for action and the slaughter began. King Hen- 



SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 



143 



clrick fell at the first volley, and Colonel Williams was killed early 
in the action. A monument to the memory of Colonel Williams 
has been erected on the spot where he fell by the alumni of Wil- 
liams College. The provincials fell back to a small pond where 
they checked the French. They were joined at this point by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Cole whom Johnson had sent out with three hun- 
dred men as soon as he heard the firing. The English retreated to 
the fort at the lake. Johnson's whole armv was greatly demnralized. 



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BLOODY POND 



and had Dieskau quickly followed up his advantage it is quite prob- 
able that he would have won a complete victory, but neither his 
Indians nor the militia could be persuaded to attack Johnson's 
works, insignificant as they were ; and by the time the regulars, 
who were in the rear, had come up, order had been restored in the 
army of the colonials, and several cannon had been placed in a 
position to resist an attack from the land side. A bloody fight 
followed. The greater part of the regulars were killed, and both 
Johnson and Dieskau were wounded. The French being repulsed 
retreated, and in doing so met Captain McGinnis near the point 
where the fight first began. McGinnis had been on a scout and 
on hearing the firing he led his forces to the aid of Johnson 



144 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

and came upon the scene just in time to meet the French on their 
retreat. The French were completely routed and fled, leaving their 
arms and much of their clothing, so utterly were they demoralized. 
Tradition says that those killed in this fight were not buried but 
were thrown into a little pond near by, and that its waters were 
reddened by the blood of the slain. However that may be, the little 
body of water is still known as " Bloody Pond." 

The Iroquois were so incensed at their losses, especially on ac- 
count of the death of King Hendrick, that they were determined to 
kill Dieskau, who had been taken prisoner. But for the firmness and 
activity of Johnson there might have been enacted, on a lesser scale, 
a shameful scene like that which forever tarnishes the reputation of 
Montcalm. Because of the very heavy losses the action of this day 
is spoken of as "The Bloody Morning Scout." 

Johnson has been blamed, and perhaps justly so, for not fol- 
lowing up his success by an attack on Crown Point. General Ly- 
man was very strongly in favor of an advance movement. The 
two months after the fight with Dieskau were spent in building a 
fort at Lake George. Early in December Johnson resigned his 
commission and disbanded the greater part of his army, leaving 
only six hundred men to garrison Fort William Henry. 

For the victory at Lake George, Parliament voted Johnson 
£5,000, and the King made him a baronet. 

Johnson, who had had much trouble with Governor Shirley of 
Massachusetts, over the question of the management of the Indians, 
received froiu the home government, in 1756, his commission as 
Colonel, Agent, and Sole Superintendent of Indian Affairs, for the 
Six Nations and the other northern Indians, and each northern 
province was forbidden to transact any business with the Indians. 
This left Johnson, for the first time, absolutely free from inter- 
ference. 

During the winter of 1 758-59 plans were made for an invasion 
of Canada, and an expedition was fitted out against Niagara. Gen- 



146 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

eral Amherst recommended Johnson for the command of this force, 
but the British ministry thought it should be led by a regular army 
officer, so General Prideaux was given the command and Sir Wil- 
liam was next in rank. The army reached Niagara on the 6th of 
July. It was made up of about twenty-two hundred white troops 
and not far from a thousand Indians, the latter under the imme- 
diate command of Johnson. Prideaux was killed by the bursting- 
of a small cannon on the 9th of July and the command of the whole 
force devolved upon Johnson. A force under Colonel d'Aubrey 
attempted to relieve the fort but was defeated by Johnson, after 
which the French surrendered. 

It is worthy of note as illustrating Johnson's influence over the 
Indians, that with a force of nearly a thousand savages, nearly half 
of which was made up of Senecas and Cayugas, at that time the 
most savage of all the Six Nations, not the slightest effort was made 
to violate, in any way, the articles of capitulation, notwithstanding 
the fact that the Indians had lost many of their braves, including two 
popular chiefs. 

In the spring of 1760, Sir \\'illiam, with seventeen hundred and 
fifty Indians, joined in the movement against Montreal. Here 
again he controlled his force so perfectly that there was no ground 
for criticism as to the conduct of his Indians. This campaign 
ended the French war. Sir William paid his Indians and disbanded 
them at Oswego, a place of much historic interest, but one which 
we shall have but little occasion to mention in this book. Oswego 
was the scene of several conflicts and passed from the possession 
of the English to the French and back again more than once. 

This campaign ended the military career of Sir William John- 
son, but the result of this was greatly to enlarge his duties as Gen- 
eral Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Now he had not only to 
look after the Iroquois, but all the Indian tribes of the w^est and 
north-west. He urged that the change from French to English 
control should be felt by the Indians as little as possible, that the 



SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 147 

French traders, and Catholic missionaries, should not be disturbed 
in their relation to the Indians. This policy was then adopted and 
never after changed. 

Early in the spring of 1761 Sir \\'illiani sent trusty Iroquois 
runners to the Canadian Indians, and to the Indians of the north- 
west, bearing belts of peace wampum, and messages inviting dele- 
gates to meet him at a grand council to be held at Detroit the fol- 
lowing August. In response to this invitation Indians from all the 
important tribes north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi met 
with him. The council was remarkably successful. There was a 
series of meetings lasting for eighteen days. But in spite of this 
successful gathering and every effort that Johnson could put forth 
the irresponsible and dishonest English traders made so much 
trouble, and were so unprincipled in their acts, that the outcome 
was Pontiac's War. The eft'orts of Sir William prevented an 
alliance between Pontiac and the Six Nations. Had this alliance 
been accomplished it is hardly possible that a single settlement 
west of Albany could have been saved. One shudders to think 
what might have happened and how narrowly the danger was es- 
caped. Few know now how much the colony owed to Johnson at 
this time. 

THE HOME AT JOHNSTOWN 

In 175 1 or 1752 Sir William and others secured a large tract 
of land known as the "Kingsboro Patent," which was located in 
the vicinity of the present city of Johnstown. Ultimately Johnson 
bought out his associates and became the sole owner of about 
twenty-six thousand acres of land, to which he gradually added by 
further purchases. He cleared large tracts, and built saw mills 
and a grist mill. He brought to this place a considerable colony 
of Scotch-Irish and Highland Scotch tenants. About 1760 he 
decided to build a manor-house on this property, and to make his 
home there, leaving Mount Johnson to his son John, who had just 



148 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



become of age. He regarded the new estate as being both more 
valuable and more important than the old cjne. 

The manor-house at Johnstown, known as Johnson Hall, was 
built in 1761-62. It is still standing on the outskirts of the city. 
Originally there were two blockhouses, one on either side of it, 




JOHNSON HALL 

but only one is now standing. At the time of its erection Johnson 
Hall was the largest and finest mansion west of the Hudson River. 

The first IMasonic lodge established west of Albany was at Johns- 
town, and the meetings were held at Johnson Hall, in a back room 
on the second floor. It was here that Joseph Brant was made a 
Mason. It is said that the interior of the house is little changed. 

Sir William was exceedingly fond of athletic sports and once a 
year he invited the braves of the Six Nations to Johnson Hall to 
play Indian games. He also encouraged the old English field 
sports and appointed "sports-days" at Johnstown for his tenants. 



SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 



149 



He was fond of boisterous sports and introduced bag-races, bur- 
lesque horse races, the catching of greased pigs, and similar 
amusements. He held an annual fair for the benefit of the sur- 
rounding country, giving all the 



prizes himself. 

Johnson spent his closing 
years at Johnstown which was 
made the seat of a new county, 
called Tryon in honor of the 
colonial governor of that name. 
Sir William built St. John's 
Episcopal Church, which has 
since been twice rebuilt on the 
same site. The court house and 
jail, which were erected in 1772, 
are not only still standing, but 
are still used for the purpose for 
which they were built. The\' 
were made of brick brought 
from London. For many years 
the jail was the only place west 
of Albany used for the confine- 
ment of prisoners. 

Tryon county no longer ex- 
ists. The patriots hated Gov- 
ernor Tr}'on and would not 
have his name perpetuated by 
having it given to one of the 
counties of the state, so after the Revolution the county, which was 
enormously large, was cut up into several smaller ones, no one of 
which retained the original name. 

Johnson's health began to fail in 1770, but he lived till 1774. 
He foresaw the comin<jf coi^fiict between the colonies and the 




STATUE OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON AND 

KING HENDRICK AT THE STATE 

PARK AT LAKE GEORGE 



150 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

mother country and did all that he could to prevent it. There is 
good reason for believing that his sympathies were with the colo- 
nies. There are those who believe that he committed suicide that 
he might not be forced to choose between the mother country which 
had so greatly honored him, and the colonies he loved so well. His 
very sudden death at a time when he was holding a council with 
the Indians and when it is said he received a sealed parcel from 
Great Britain are given as reasons for the belief that some hold, 
but there is no sufficient reason for such an opinion. The war had 
not yet broken out, and no one could say that it might not in some 
way be prevented, and more than all there is nothing in the charac- 
ter of Sir William that would lead one to think he would commit 
suicide in any event. Such action would be wholly inconsistent 
with all that we know of him. 

Johnson lived in a sparsely settled country. At the time of his 
death all news travelled very slowly, yet so generally was he be- 
loved, and so prominent had he been in the history of our state, 
that more than two thousand people were present at his funeral, and 
his pall bearers were the judges of the supreme court of the colony 
of New York, and the Governor of the colony of New Jersey. 

Sir William Johnson was one of the most remarkable men of 
colonial times. His most pronounced characteristic was his strict 
integrity. He was a man of great industry, very methodical, and 
possessed indomitable energy. Few men better deserve the kindly 
remembrance of their countrymen, and still fewer have done so 
much toward shaping the destiny of our great state. 

A statue in memory of Sir William and King Hendrick has 
recently been erected on the site of the Lake George Battlefield. 



JOSEPH BRANT 

Thayendanegea, most commonly known as Joseph Brant, was 
the son of a full-blooded Mohawk of the Wolf clan, probably a 
sachem, and very likely one of the five sachems who visited Eng- 
land during the reign of Queen Anne. 

To the great majority of people Brant is merely a name synony- 
mous with cruelty. This is an utterly mistaken notion. The Iro- 
quois Confederacy was closely connected with the history of the 
colony of New York, and after the death of King Hendrick Brant 
was the ruling spirit of that Confederacy. We ought, therefore, to 
understand the man. 

Before we too severely condemn him, or any Indian, because of 
cruelties practised, we should forget that the early settlers cap- 
tured Indians and sold them into slavery ; that they brought negroes 
from Africa and sold them into slavery. We should forget the 
expeditions of Balboa and Cortez and the horrible treatment of 
the natives of Mexico and South America. We should forget the 
cruelties of the whites in all their relations with the Indians in the 
early days. In fact we should forget much of history. Until we 
do this it is hardly for us to cast the first stone. 

While Brant was an Indian with many of the Indian ideas of 
warfare — and even with the whites war is not a gentle art — he was 
not the cruel man he has generally been represented to be. He 
was far less cruel than many of the Tories. He says that he killed 
but one man in cold blood and that he always regretted that act. 

There has been some question as to Brant's origin. Some have 
claimed that he was a half-breed, and that he owed his ability to 
his white blood. There seems to be no other ground for this state- 



152 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



meat than tliat he had a much hg^hter complexion than was usual 
among the Indians. This may have been due to his manner of 
living, his training having been such as to lead him to live more in 
the house and to be much cleaner than the Indians generally were. 
It has also been claimed that he was not a Mohawk but a Shawanese. 

This is probably due to the fact that he 
was born in the Shawanese country. It 
was customar}' for the Mohawks to 
make long hunting trips into the Ohio 
valley and Brant was born during one of 
these expeditions. 

liis father dying early his mother 
married again, and Brant took the name 
by which he is generally known from 
his step-father, though that was not his 
step- father's name, and it is not quite 
certain how it came to be used. The 
step-father's name being Bernard or 
Barnet, it would not be a very great 
change to call it P.rant, as seems to 
have been done for some, reason. 
Brant early attracted the attention of Sir William Johnson, 
who sent him to a school at Lebanon kept by Doctor Wheelock, 
Connecticut. This school was afterward transferred to Hanover, 
New Hampshire, and became the foundation of Dartmouth Col- 
lege of which Doctor Wheelock was the first President. It was 
about 1763 that Brant attended the school at Lebanon. 

Brant was tall, muscular, and possessed great endurance. He 
was inclined to corpulency, had very bright eyes, and a forehead 
that was broad and low. The portrait shown above is from a paint- 
ing made by the noted artist Romney at the time of Brant's first 
visit to England. 

Brant, thoutrh at that time onlv thirteen vears of asre. was with 



iwp 


■ 


1 ^^^'- »^'^li 


H| 


|; '~/|n -^fl 


H 


hI^ Jl 


H 


^^^^^ ~-^Vs£^^\JFSjHWM 


t?'.T.>;,'>;i-.-5' 


i^s3 


1 



JOSEPH BRANT 



JOSEPH BRANT 153 

Sir William Johnson at Lake George and took part in the battle 
there. In speaking of this battle Brant said he was so scared at 
first that he had to take hold of a small sapling to keep from falling. 
He served as a lieutenant at the Battle of Niagara, though only 
seventeen years old. A year later he acted as captain in the St. 
Lawrence campaign, in both cases serving under Sir William John- 
son. He also took part in the war against the great Ottaway chief 
Pontiac. The Reverend Mr. Kirkland says of him in that cam- 
paign, " He behaved so much like a Christian and a soldier that he 
gained great esteem." 

Brant had three wives. His first wife, whom he married in 
1765, was the daughter of an Oneida chief, and the granddaughter 
of King Hendrick. It is probable that Brant was married accord- 
ing to Indian custom, though his marriage may have been sanc- 
tioned by the church, as there were Episcopal missionaries in the 
valley, and Brant was an Episcopalian. 

After his marriage Brant settled at Canajoharie, the middle 
Mohawk village. Here he had a comfortable home where he 
often ■ entertained the missionaries who were stationed among the 
Mohawks. 

Brant's first wife died of consumption, a very common disease 
among the Indians. Afterward he married the half-sister of his 
first wife. He asked the Episcopal minister to perform the mar- 
riage ceremony which he refused to do because the English law 
then, as now, did not permit a man to marry his deceased wife's 
sister. Brant's third wife was the half-breed daughter of Colonel 
Croghan. 

In ]:)rivate life Brant was beyond reproach. He was afifable and 
polite in conversation. He possessed the natural sagacity of the 
Indian and the skill and science of the civilized man. 

Brant was Sir William Johnson's secretary for many years, and 
afterward served his son, Sir John Johnson, in the same capacity. 
Tlie last words spoken by Sir William were to Joseph Brant. He 



154 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



said, "Joseph, control your people — control your people! I am 
going away !" 

Brant became supreme in the Six Nations. Just why is not 
certain. It may have been because one of his wives was the grand- 
daughter of old King Hendrick. It may have been because <>f 
the last words of Sir William Johnson. It may have been because 
of his superior talents, his wisdom as a counsellor, and his skill as 
a politician. It may have been all of these combined. I 

At the outbreak of the Revolution, Brant was very active in 
arraying the Six Nations on the side of the English, and in strength- 
ening in every possible way the cause of the loyalists in the Mohawk 
valley. He tried to secure the removal of Reverend Mr. Kirkland, 
the missionary, because he feared his influence with the Oneidas, 
but he failed in this because of the unanimous support which the 
Oneidas gave to Mr. Kirkland. 

While at school at Lebanon Brant became very much attached 
to Doctor Wheelock, and because of this Mr. Wheelock was asked 
to use his influence with Brant to induce him to take the part of 
the colonists in the coming struggle, or at least to remain neutral. 
He wrote Brant a long letter presenting the case in as strong a light 
as he was able. In reply Brant said that he "well remembered the 
happy hours spent at school, and especially the family prayers, and 
above all how his schoolmaster used to pray that they might be 
able to live as good subjects, to fear God. and honor the King." 
Speaking of his choice of sides in the controversy between the coh )- 
nies and the mother country Brant said, "When I joined the Eng- 
lish at the beginning of the war it was purely on account of my 
forefathers' engagements with the King. I always looked on those 
engagements, or contracts, between the King and the Indian nation 
as a sacred thing; therefore, I was not to be frightened by the 
threats of rebels at the time." 

It is not certain, however, that Brant was not considering first 
of all the welfare of his own people. Before he had committed 



JOSEPH BRANT 155 

himself beyond recall to the British cause he made a visit to Eng- 
land, very likely to satisfy himself as to the real strength and pur- 
pose of the English. At the time he left this country the patriots 
had invaded Canada and were driving all before them, and it is pos- 
sible that Brant thought the English prospects were not very bright. 

While in England Brant met many noted men, Boswell and the 
Earl of Warwick being among the number. Before his return 
Brant had fully committed himself to the English cause and prom- 
ised to bring to its support three thousand warriors. He returned 
to this country in time to take part in the battle of The Cedars, 
where he saved the life of Captain M'Kinstrey, who would have 
been roasted alive but for Brant's interference. This is one of many 
incidents showing his humanity. 

Brant's part in the Revolution is given quite fully in the article 
on "Indian Raids and Massacres," and therefore need not be told 
here. Brant was the Indian hero of the Revolution. He was the 
principal war chief of the Six Nations, and also held a captain's 
commission from the British. The Indian forces at the Battle of 
Oriskany were led by Brant. They suffered so severely in this 
action that they were greatly dispirited and the Senecas and Cay- 
ugas seriously contemplated abandoning the British cause. It 
taxed to the utmost the skill and resources of Brant to hold these 
nations loyal to the British. 

At the close of the Revolution the British government gave the 
Mohawks a tract of land in Canada. It was situated on the Grand 
River which flows into Lake Erie. This river is navigable for 
large boats for some distance and for smaller ones for many miles 
farther. The tract granted to Brant and his ]\Iohawk people was 
six miles wide on each side of the river, from its mouth to its 
source, in all about twelve hundred square miles of beautiful and 
fertile land. It was a much smaller territory than they possessed 
in New York but they were quite content. 

Brant made everv effort for the moral and religious improve 



.56 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



nient of his people. lie btiilt a church for their use with the 
money collected for that purpose while in England. This was 
the first church built in r])iier Canada. He also arranged with the 

British to have a school es- 
tablished, and a flouring mill 
erected, on the Mohawk ter- 
ritory. 

Not long after settling in 
Canada Brant went to Eng- 
land for a second time to ar- 
range for the care of his peo- 
ple who had lost everything 
through their loyalty to the 
British, but who had not 
been provided for or even 
mentioned in the treaty at 
the close of the Revolution. 
His mission w'as fairly suc- 
cessful. Fie w-as received 
with great honor and met 
such men as the Bishop of 
London, Charles Fox, and 
James Boswell. He was a 
great favorite with the 
King and the royal family. While in London he translated the 
Gospel of St. Mark into the Mohawk language, and assisted in 
getting out a revised edition of the Book of Prayer and Psalms, in 
the Mohawk tongue. 

There was considerable difficulty regarding the Ih-itish grant to 
the Mohawks and for some years Brant's time was largely taken 
up i.: arranging this matter. He was also concerned with the 
Western Indians in their relations with the Cnited States. 

Brant felt verv keenlv the bitter hatred with which he was 




J.\UMENT AT BRANTFORD 



JOSEPH BRANT 



'57 



regarded in after years by his former neighbors in the Mohawk 
valley. He felt that he had carried on a purely legitimate warfare, 
and that he was more sinned against than sinning. Now that the 
lapse of time enables us to see without being blinded by passion or 
prejudice, it is clear that Hrant tried to conduct himself as a high- 




MAP OF THE SCHOHARIE AND MOHAWK VALLEYS 



minded gentleman should, and that he usually succeeded in doing 
so. If we are to judge him rightly we need to try to see things, to 
some extent, from his point of view% and in some measure put our- 
selves in his place. He denied having committed any act of cruelty 
during the war, and no case has ever been proved against him, 'while 
there are many well authenticated instances of his kindness and 
mercv. 



158 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Brant received a white man's education. He was a member of 
the Episcopal church and very proud of the relation. His charac- 
ter is shown by his efforts for the upbuilding of his people after they 
removed to Canada. Two of Brant's sons attended Dartmouth 
college. Many of his descendants to-day are among the most 
respectable inhabitants of Canada. One of his sons was a mem- 
ber of the Canadian Colonial Assembly. 

Brant died at Brantford, Haldiman county, Upper Canada, on 
the 24th of November, 1807. Here a monument has been erected 
to his memory, the memory of the most remarkable Indian of 
Revolutionary times. A savage far less savage than many white 
men with whom he was associated during the great struggle be- 
tween the colonies and the mother country. A man who should be 
honored, not execrated. 



INDIAN RAIDS AND MASSACRES 

"The whole confederacy, except a Httle more than half of the Oneidas, 
ook up arms against us. They hung like the scythe of death upon the rear 
f our settlements, and their deeds are inscribed with the scalping-knife 
,nd the tomahawk, in characters of blood, on the fields of Wyoming and 
"herry Valley, and on the banks of the Mohawk." — De Witt Clinton. 

No ATTEMPT will here be made to give anything- like a full 
iccount of the Indian raids and massacres on the New York 
rontier during the Revolution. That would require a large vol- 
ime. Neither will the sketches given be at all complete. The 
)urpose of this chapter is to give the reader some idea how our 
'orefathers, living on the frontier, suffered during the Revolution, 
tnd how strong was the provocation which led to Sullivan's ex- 
jedition. 

The losses of the Iroquois at Oriskany were so severe as to make 
Iiem desperate and revengeful to an unusual degree even for 
[ndians. Soon after this battle Indians and Tories, under the com- 
nand of Brant and the Butlers, began to harry the settlements, 
especially in the Mohawk, Susquehanna, and Schoharie valleys. 
During the summer of 1778 the Indians and Tories were gathered 
n force at Oswego and Unadilla, and from these points they made 
:orays during the whole season, meeting with no effective opposi- 
:ion. 

COBLESKILL 

On the 30th of May, 1778. Brant with three or four hundred 
Tien reached Cobleskill, a hamlet about ten miles west of Schoharie, 
:ontaining nineteen families. A detachment of Colonel Alden's 
■egiment on its way to Cherry Valley attacked Brant, but was 

159 



i6o EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

repulsed and sixteen of the number killed. Five or six of the inhab- 
itants were killed, and the houses and barns were burned, but most 
of the inhabitants escaped to Schoharie. After the raid "horses, 
cows, sheep, etc., lay dead all over the fields." 

Brant went on to Cherry Valley but did not attack the place, 
because from the hills he saw what he thought were soldiers drill- 
ing, but he was deceived by the distance, his supposed soldiers being 
boys parading with paper caps and wooden arms. 

SPRINGFIELD 

Springfield was a small settlement at the head of Otsego Lake. 
It was destroyed by Brant on the i8th of June, 1778. Colonel 
Klock in reporting this aft'air to Colonel Clinton said, "Houses, 
barns, even wagons, and the haycocks in the meadows at Spring- 
field were laid in ashes. Fourteen men were carried away prisoners, 
and eight were killed. All the provisions were taken on horses and 
carried off. Two hundred creatures (horses and cattle chiefly) 
were driven down the Susquehanna." 

Brant did not carry away the women and children, but gathered 
them all together in one house and left them. All the other build- 
ings were burned. After this Brant destroyed Andrustown and 
other settlements near Otsego Lake. 

WYOMING 

The beautiful and fertile valley of Wyoming on the Susque- 
hanna was the scene of one of the most horrible of all the Indian 
massacres. Though not in the state of New York it is so closely 
associated with the Indian massacres in that state that its story is 
a part of the whole sad history. 

The population of the valley w^as not far from five thousand. 
Nearly all the men capable of bearing arms were away when the 
attack was made. There was a stockade at Wvoming called Fortv 



INDIAN RAIDS AND MASSACRES l6l 

Fort. When it was learned that Butler was at Tioga Point, five 
hundred women and children gathered within the stockade where 
they were defended by an improvised force made up of old men a;nd 
boys under the command of Colonel Zebulon Butler who was home 
on a furlough. All the able-bodied men of the valley were serving 
in the Continental army. When Colonel John Butler with a force 
of about eleven hundred men appeared before the fort, its defenders, 
only three hundred in number, despite all the efforts of their com- 
mander to restrain them, rushed out to attack the enemy. The 
result, as might have been expected, was disastrous beyond expres- 
sion. Many were instantly killed. Others were captured, then 
tomahawked and scalped. Not more than sixty of the whole num- 
ber escaped. Four days later Colonel John Butler appeared before 
Fort Wyoming and demanded its surrender. The occupants were 
so intimidated by recent occurrences that they offered no resistance. 
The terms of surrender provided that the lives and property of the 
settlers should be secure and that they should be left in undisturbed 
possession of their farms. 

These terms were wholly ignored. The valley was laid waste. 
Men were separated froni their wives, and mothers from their 
children. Some w'ere carried into captivity. Many fled. There 
were cruel and unprovoked murders. One Tory killed his own 
brother in cold blood. Dr. Thatcher in his Military Journal says: 
"Captain Braddock was committed to torture by having his body 
stuck full of splinters of pine knots and a fire of dry wood made 
around him, when his two companions, Captains Ransom and 
Durkee, were thrown into the same fire and held down with pitch- 
forks till consumed. . . . Thompson Terry with his own hands 
butchered his mother, his father-in-law, two sisters and their infant 
children, and exterminated the whole family. 

"Sixteen poor fellows were arranged in a circle, while an old 
half-breed hag, known as Queen Esther, supposed to be a grand- 
daughter of Frontenac, danced slowly around the ring shrieking 



i62 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

a death-song as she slew them one after another with her toma- 
hawk." 

These things do not make pleasant reading and are presented 
only for the purpose of showing how strong was the provocation 
which led to tiie severe punishment inflicted the following year by 
the expedition under Sullivan. 

Brant's name has been, most unjustly, associated with the Wyo- 
ming massacre. He was not in the valley at any time during the 
raid. The ignominy of that afifair belongs solely to Colonel John 
Butler. 

GERMAN FLATTS 

An attack on German Flatts had long been expected. In Sep- 
tember nine men from that place were sent toward Unadilla where 
Brant was said to be, to learn all that they could of the movements 
of the Tories and Indians. The Indians surprised them at Edme- 
ston, killed three of the party and drove the others into the river. 
One of them, John Helmer, made his way back to German Flatts 
where he arrived in a sad plight, "his clothing torn to tatters, his 
eyes bloodshot, his hands, face and limbs, lacerated and bleeding 
from the effects of the brambles and bushes through which he had 
forced his headlong flight." 

Brant reached the place only an hour later than Helmer, but the 
hitter's warning had enabled the inhabitants to reach Forts Herki- 
mer and Dayton in safety. Brant had with him about three hun- 
dred Tories and one hundred and fifty Indians. On the morning 
of the 17th of September, 1778, the work of destruction began. 
Only two persons were killed, but a beautiful country and a pros- 
perous settlement were left houseless and desolate. More than a 
hundred buildings were burned. Nearly a thousand head of horses, 
cattle, and sheep were driven away. All the crops were destroyed. 



INDIAN RAIDS AND MASSACRES 163 

CHERRY VALLEY 

Early in the fall of 1778 the colonists attacked Unadilla and 
Oghwaga, places where the Tories and the Indians made their head- 
quarters and fitted out expeditions against the settlers of the fron- 
tier. The places were burned and the crops destroyed. More than 
four thousand bushels of grain were burned. The attack at Cherry 
\'alley was an act of retaliation on the part of the Tories and 
Indians. Colonels Clyde and Campbell, who were very conspicuous 
at the Battle of Oriskany, both lived at Cherry Valley. Because 
of this the Indians, who suffered greatly at Oriskany, had a special 
hatred of the place. 

Cherry Valley was attacked on the nth of November by a force 
of eight hundred Indians and Tories who were under the command 
of Walter Butler, though Brant was with the party. The attack 
was a complete surprise though it ought not to have been so. The 
people had had repeated warnings, but Colonel Alden, who was in 
command, did not credit the reports received. A short time before 
the attack was made the inhabitants became alarmed and wished to 
remove to the fort, but Alden would not permit it, saying there was 
no danger, that he would be vigilant and give due notice of the 
approach of any hostile force. That he was sincere is shown by 
the fact that he himself was without the fort when the attack came 
and was among the first to be killed. He made his fatal mistake 
because he had had no experience in fighting the Indians. 

General Hand was at Cherry Valley a short time before the 
attack, and the inhabitants begged him to send them reenforcements ; 
he ordered Colonel Klock, who was only twenty miles away, to send 
two hundred men to Cherry Valley immediately, but Klock was slow 
in obeying the order and the men did not arrive till after the mas- 
sacre though he had promised to have them there by the 9th. That 
date having arrived without bringing the expected reenforcements. 
Colonel Alden sent a party of men down the valley on a scout. 



164 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

They were captured by Butler's forces and of course could give no 
warning of the approach of the enemy. Colonel Alden, not hearing 
from them instead of regarding the fact as a warning, assumed that 
everything was safe, and even when, the morning of the nth, a 
man from down the valley who came very early to the place re- 
I)orted that he had been fired upon, Alden was still incredulous and 
thought the enemy was only a party of stragglers. He was soon 
undeceived and was an early victim of his almost criminal neglect 
of duty. The following extract is from Campbell's " Annals of 
Try on County " : 

"The Senecas, who first arrived at the house, with some Tories, com- 
menced an indiscriminate massacre of the family, and before the rangers 
had arrived, had barbarously murdered them all, including Robert Wells, 
his mother, and wife, and four children, his brother and sister, John and 
Jane, with three domestics. . . . John Wells, Esq., at this time deceased, 
and the father of Robert Wells, had been one of the judges of the courts of 
Tryon County; in that capacity and as one of the justices of the quorum, 
he had been on intimate terms with Sir William Johnson and family, who 
frequently visited at his house, and also with Colonel John Butler, likewise 
a judge. The family were not active either for or against the country; 
they wished to remain neutral, so far as they could in such turbulent times; 
they always performed military duty, when called out to defend the country. 
Colonel John Butler, in a conversation relative to them, remarked — ' I would 
have gone miles on my hands and knees to have saved that family, and why 
my son did not do it, God only knows.' ... A Tory boasted that he 
killed Mr. Wells while at prayer." 

The fort at Cherry Valley was not captured, but all houses, 
barns, and other property in the village and in the countr}- about it 
were destroyed. Thirty of the inhabitants were killed and seventy 
taken prisoners, though most of the latter were soon sent back by 
the enemy. Quoting again from Campbell's " Annals of Tryon 
County " : " Some generous acts were performed by Brant, which in 
justice to him ought to be mentioned. In a house which he entered 
he found a woman engaged in her usual business. ' Are you thus 



INDIAN RAIDS AND MASSACRES 165 

engaged while all your neighbors are murdered around you ? ' said 
Brant. ' We are the King's people,' she replied. ' That plea will not 
avail you to-day. They have murdered Mr. Wells's family who were 
as dear to me as my own.' ' There is one Joseph Brant ; if he is with 
the Indians he will save us.' T am Joseph Brant; but I have not 
the command, and I do not know that I can save you ; but I will do 
what is in my power.' While speaking several Senecas were ob- 
served approaching the house. 'Get into bed and feign yourself 
sick,' said Brant hastily. When the Senecas came in he told them 
there were no persons there but a sick woman and her children and 
besought them to leave the house, which after a short conversation 
they accordingly did. As soon as they were out of sight Brant went 
to the end of the house and gave a long shrill yell ; soon after a 
small band of Mohawks w^as seen crossing the adjoining field with 
great speed. As they came up he addressed them, 'Where is your 
paint? Here, put my mark upon this woman and her children.' 
As soon as it was done he added, "You are now probably safe.' " 

There is not space in this article to give further details of this 
massacre, or an account of the hardships of the prisoners who were 
carried into captivity. Those who are interested can read very full 
and complete accounts in such works as Halsey's "Old New York 
Frontier," and Stone's "Life of Brant." 

THE BATTLE OF MINISINK 

While the forces constituting Sullivan's expedition were gather- 
ing, Brant struck a blow at Minisink. His real purpose was to 
secure supplies, as the many raids made by both sides in the valley 
of the Susquehanna had left little there for the support of the con- 
tending forces. Brant reached Minisink, about ten miles west of 
Goshen, the night of the 19th of July, 1779. The surprise was so 
complete that several of the houses were in flames before any of the 
inhabitants were aware of the approach of enemies. Brant's force 
at Minisink consisted of sixty Indians and twenty-seven Tories dis- 



1 66 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

guised as Indians. In this attack four men were killed, three 
prisoners taken, ten houses, twelve barns, two mills, and a fort 
burned. Brant drove away the cattle, joined his main force at 
Grassy Brook, and began his retreat up the Delaware. He had 
reached a point near Lackawaxen and was preparing to cross 
the stream and go on to the Sus([uehanna valley when his pursuers 
overtook him. 

As soon as the news of the attack on Alinisink reached Goshen, 
Colonel Tusten of the local militia ordered his officers to meet him at 
Minisink the next day with as many volunteers as they could raise. 
One hundred and forty-nine men, among whom were many of the 
principal citizens of the county, met at the appointed time. They 
held a council to determine upon the wisdom of an immediate ad- 
vance. Colonel Tusten favored waiting for reenforcements, as it 
was probable that the enemy greatly outnumbered them, but his 
counsel did not prevail. It was the old story, courage got the better 
of prudence, as at Wyoming, Oriskany, and many other places. 
Major Meeker mounted his horse and flourishing his sword cried 
out, "Let the brave men follow me. The cowards may stay be- 
hind." Of course all followed. The next day they were joined by a 
small reenforcement from Warwick under the command of Colonel 
Hathorn. As he ranked Colonel Tusten he took command of the 
united forces. Both of the colonels, and some others, thought it 
wise to w^ait for further reenforcements. as it had been ascertained 
that the Indians greatly outnumbered them, but again the hot-headed 
majoritv gave no thought to prudence and the pursuit was kept up. 
The Indians were soon overtaken and then followed one of the most 
disastrous engagements of all the border warfare. The fight began 
about eleven o'clock in the morning and lasted till sundown. 
Nearly two hundred men from Goshen and \\'arwick went out in 
pursuit of the enemy. All save about thirty were killed. Many of 
the foremost citizens of the county were among the slain. 

Durincf the remainder of that vear Sullivan was busv in admin- 



INDIAN RAIDS AND MASSACRES 1 67 

istering the most drastic treatment to the Six Nations. It was 
thought that this would secure the frontier against further depreda- 
tions from the Indians, but this was far from being the case. The 
next year the frontier was again scourged by the Tories and the 
Indians. Early in the spring of 1880, Brant with a party of Tories 
and Indians captured and burned Harpersfield. Three men were 
killed and eight taken prisoners. A little later Sir John Johnson 
revisited his father's home. He devastated the Mohawk valley for 
a dozen miles. Every building not owned by a loyalist was burned. 
The sheep and cattle were killed, and the horses driven away. Forty 
prisoners were taken, and several old men were killed. Tribes Hill 
and Caughnawaga were among the hamlets destroyed. 

CANAJOHARIE 

On the 2d of August, 1780, Brant appeared in the Mohawk 
valley. It was a most inopportune time for the settlers. All the 
militia of the county was at Fort Schuyler guarding some supplies. 
There were destroyed at this time more than one hundred and forty 
houses and barns, two forts, one church, one mill, and a great 
quantity of farm utensils. Over three hundred head of horses, 
cattle, and pigs, were driven off or killed. Twenty-four people 
were murdered, and seventy-three taken prisoners. In a single 
day a beautiful, fertile and prosperous valley was made a scene of 
horror and desolation. 

THE SCHOHARIE VALLEY 

At the beginning of the Revolution there were not more than 
a thousand inhabitants in the whole of what is now Schoharie 
county. The settlements began about twenty miles above the junc- 
tion of the Schoharie Creek with the Mohawk, and continued along 
the valley for about fifteen miles. During the year 1777 the inhab- 
itants began to suft'er from the inroads of straggling parties of 



i68 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



Indians. Three forts were constructed, one at Schoharie, one at 

Middleburgh, and a third five or six miles further up the stream. 

It will be worth the while of the reader to give some study to 




MAP OF THE TERRITORY VISITED BY SULLIVAN S EXPEDITION 



the map of the Mohawk and Schoharie valleys so as to see how 
accessible the latter was to the Iroquois, particularly to the Mo- 
hawks. 

In the fall of 1780 Sir John Johnson with a force of about eight 
hundred men entered the Schoharie valley. It was his intention to 
pass by the upper fort and make his first attack at Middleburgh, but 



INDIAN RAIDS AND MASSACRES 169 

he was discovered and his force fired upon, and all the forts were 
thus notified of his movements. Johnson's movement was a com- 
plete surprise. Many of the inhabitants were at their homes and 
did not have time to gain the forts. Johnson appeared before Mid- 
dleburgh at daybreak on the morning of the i6th of October. He 
laid siege to the fort which was garrisoned by about two hundred 
men. He then burned houses and destroyed property in all direc- 
tions at his leisure. All the inhabitants who had been unable to 
make their escape were killed. After a siege of several days John- 
son, for some reason, withdrew his forces. Possibly the fact that 
he had made three attempts to hold a consultation with the com- 
manding officer of the fort, and each time his white flag had been 
fired upon, impressed him with the belief that the garrison was more 
numerous than he had supposed, or that the defenders of the fort 
were too desperate to make it wise to risk an assault. 

As Johnson's force passed down the valley they stopped a short 
time in the vicinity of the lower fort and exchanged a few shots with 
its defenders. His whole force finally reached Fort Hunter, at the 
junction of the Schoharie Creek with the Mohawk. He left devas- 
tation all along the line of his march. All the houses and barns 
save those "belonging to Tories were burned. Crops were destroyed 
and horses and cattle killed or driven off. About one hundred peo- 
ple were killed or carried into captivity. From Fort Hunter John- 
son marched up the Mohawk valley, destroying everything as he 
went. 

In these few pages I have tried to give some idea of the experi- 
ences of the people of the New York frontier during the Revolution, 
especially those who lived hi the Mohawk and Schoharie valleys. 
Many of the raids and massacres by the Indians and Tories have 
not even been mentioned. It may add somewhat to the vividness 
of the picture to give a few statistics. When we remember how 
sparsely that section of country was settled we will in some degree 
conceive what it means when we are told that in Tryon county alone 



lyo EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

thousands of head of cattle and horses were destroyed, seven hun- 
dred buildings burned, and twelve thousand farms left uncultivated ; 
that two-thirds of the inhabitants had been killed or driven out of 
the county, three hundred and eighty women widowed, and two 
thousand children left fatherless, as the result of the raids and mas- 
sacres for which the Butlers, Johnson, and Brant were responsible. 



I 



SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION 

History has not done justice to Sullivan's expedition. It was 
one of the important events of the Revolutionary war and vet com- 
paratively few people know much about it. It occupied fully one- 
third of the Continental army for a whole campaign and was the 
most important military event of that year. The campaign was 
carried on under great difficulties, but was brilliantly successful, and 
carried out with very little loss of life on the part of those engaged 
in it. It ultimately resulted in the destruction of the Iroquois Con- 
federacy, but many of those who know fairly well the story of that 
confederacy know almost nothing of the campaign that resulted in 
its overthrow\ It is hoped that this brief sketch will enable our 
young people to get a clear idea of that march into an unmapped 
and almost unknown wilderness. That they will learn, that before 
the time of the white man, there were in the valley of the Genesee, 
and in the Lake region, fertile fields, thousands of acres of waving 
corn, numerous orchards of apple and peach trees, and gardens of 
vegetables ; that this was the home of the Senecas and the Cayugas ; 
that all the property of these people was destroyed ; that they had 
brought home to themselves some taste of the misery they had been 
inflicting upon others. 

The Indian massacres at Wyoming, and along the New York 
frontier, especially in the Mohawk, Schoharie and Susquehanna val- 
leys, had so aroused the people that the Continental Congress felt 
called upon to take some action in the matter. On the 25th of Feb- 
ruary, 1779, a resolution was passed directing Washington to take 
effectual means to protect the frontier, and to chastise the Indians 
for their depredations. 

171 



172 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



Washington decided to make this the principal miHtia event of 
the year and five thousand men were detailed for this service. Be- 
cause of his rank the command of the expedition was offered to 
General Gates, who in reply to the tender wrote Washington as 
follows: "The man who undertakes the Indian service should 
enjoy youth and strength, requisites I do not possess. It therefore 
grieves me that your Excellency should ofifer me the only command 

to which I am entirely unequal." This 
not very gracious reply did not please 
Washington who referred to it in his 
correspondence with Congress. After 
the refusal of Gates the command was 
given to Sullivan, who was one of the 
eight Brigadier Generals appointed by 
Congress when the Continental army was 
organized. 

The expedition was made up of three 
divisions. The first was directly under 
"the command of Sullivan and the forces 
of which it was made up assembled at 
Easton, Pennsylvania, from which point 
they marched to Wyoming on the Sus- 
quehanna River, and later up the river 
to Tioga Point, where they waited for Clinton who had gathered 
a force at Schenectady and from there marched to Canajoharie, 
from which point he sent an expedition against the Onondagas, 
burning about fifty of their houses and killing nearly thirty of the 
Indians and taking a somewhat larger number prisoners. 

Upon the return of this expedition Clinton marched from Can- 
ajoharie to the head of Otsego Lake, a distance of about twenty 
miles. Part of this was through an unbroken forest, and there was 
not a good road any part of the way. More than two hundred heavy 
batteaux had to be drawn across this stretch of country by oxen. 




GENERAL JOHN SULLIVAN 



SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION 173 

The third division consisting of about six hundred and fifty 
men, was under the command of Colonel Daniel Brodhead who 
started from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the nth of August and 
followed the Alleghany River into the Seneca country. He probably 
went as far as the present city of Hornellsville. He destroyed a 
considerable number of houses, and a large quantity of corn and 
other vegetables. It was intended that Brodhead should join Sul- 
livan at Genesee and the united forces march on to the attack of 
Niagara, but for some reason no attack was made on that place, so 
Brodhead never cooperated with Sullivan, but no doubt his move- 
ment into the Seneca country kept some of the Indians there for the 
defence of their homes and so lessened the number who opposed 
Sullivan at Newtown. 

Sullivan's expedition was made up of three brigades, the first 
consisting of four New Jersey regiments under the command of 
General William Maxwell. The New Jersey troops marched from 
Elizabethtown, New Jersey, to Easton, where they were joined by 
General Enoch Poor's brigade made up of three New Hampshire and 
one Massachusetts regiments. The New Hampshire troops marched 
from Soldier's Fortune on the Hudson, about six miles above 
Peekskill, to Easton, crossing the Hudson at Fishkill and march- 
ing from Newburgh to the New Jersey line, passing through New 
Windsor, Bethlehem, Bloominggrove Church, Chester, Warwick, 
and Hardiston, a distance of thirty-eight miles. All the places 
named are in the county of Orange. Erom Hardiston the troops 
crossed into New Jersey, and marched to Easton, fifty-eight miles 
farther on. 

Nearlv forty days were required for the march from Easton 
to Wyoming, as the way lay through thick woods and almost im- 
passable swamps. The army did not leave Wyoming till the 31st 
of June. Sullivan has been most unjustly blamed for this delay. 
Pennsylvania had been relied upon to furnish not only a considerable 
body of troops but most of the supplies, but that commonwealth did 



'74 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



not give the expedition a hearty support. The Quakers were most 
decidedly opposed to inflicting any punishment whatever upon the 
Indians. Other Pennsylvanians were offended because a New 
Englander had been chosen for the command instead of a Pennsyl- 
vanian. Troops were slow' in coming in. Supplies were furnished 
tardily and reluctantly. They were insufficient in quantity and poor 

in quality. The commissaries were care- 
less and inefficient. The contractors 
were unscrupulous and dishonest. The 
authorities complained, saying that Sulli- 
van's demands were excessive and un- 
reasonable and they threatened to prefer 
charges against him. However, all the 
testimony goes to show that the commis- 
sary department was in charge of men 
who were either utterly incompetent or 
grossly negligent of their duty. On the 
23d of June, Sullivan wrote Washington, 
saying, "More than one-third of my sol- 
diers have not a shirt to their backs," 
Colonel Hubbard in a letter to President 
Reed on the 30th of July, said, "My 
regiment, I fear, will be almost totally naked before we can possibly 
return. I have scarcely a coat or a blanket to every seventh man." 
On the 31st of July Sullivan's army left Wyoming for Tioga 
Point. A fleet of more than two hundred boats and a train of nearly 
fifteen hundred pack-horses were required to transport the army and 
its equipment. The army was eleven days in going the sixty-five miles 
between Wyoming and the point of the junction of the Chemung 
and Susquehanna Rivers. Here Sullivan waited the arrival of 
Clinton. In the meantime he built a fort which was named for him, 
between the tw^o streams about a mile and a quarter above their junc- 
tion, at a point where there were only a few hundred yards of land 




GENERAL J.\MES CLINTON 



SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION 



175 



between the two rivers. The fort was located ahnost exactly at 
the centre of the present village of Athens, Pennsylvania. 

General Clinton was at Otsego Lake where he had been waiting 
for orders from Sullivan. The lake is a beautiful sheet of water 
nine miles long and from three-quarters of a mile to two miles wide. 
It is some twelve hundred feet above tidewater, and is the principal 




UTSEGO LAK1-: 



source of the eastern branch of the Susquehanna. Its outlet is 
narrow with high banks. Here Clinton built a dam and raised the 
water of tlie lake several feet so as to furnish sufficient water to 
float his boats when the time came to go down the river. 

On the c;th of August his forces embarked and the dam was cut. 
Not only was there sufficient water to float the boats but the flats 
down the river were flooded and the Indians were frightened, 
tliinking that because of a flood during mid-summer without any 
rain the Great Spirit was angry with them. 



176 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

During his passage down the river Chnton destroyed Alboiit, 
a Scotch Tory settlement on the east side of the Susquehanna, five 
miles above the present village of Unadilla ; Conihunto, an Indian 
town fourteen miles below Unadilla on the west side of the river ; 
Unadilla, at the junction of the Unadilla wdth the Susquehanna ; 
Onoquaga, an Indian town situated on both sides of the river about 
twenty miles below Unadilla ; Shawhiangto, a Tuscarora village near 
the present village of Windsor, Broome county ; Ingaren, a Tus- 
carora hamlet where is now the village of Great Bend ; Otsiningo, 
sometimes called Zeringe, near the site of the present village of 
Chenango ; Chenango, on the Chenango River, four miles north of 
Binghamton ; Choconut, on the south side of the Susquehanna, at 
the site of the present village of A'estal, in Broome county ; Owegy, 
or Owagea, on the Owego creek about a mile above its mouth ; and 
Mauckatawangum, near Barton. 

On the 28th of August Clinton met a force sent out by Sullivan 
at a place that has since been called Union because of this meeting. 
It is about ten miles from Binghamton. 

The two forces having joined all was in readiness for a forward 
movement. So far the work had been chiefly that of preparation. 
Now the real work of the expedition was to be begun. The move- 
ment was a remarkable one. The expedition was to pass over hun- 
dreds of miles of territory of which no reliable map had ever been 
made, through forests where no roads had ever been cut. across 
swamps that were almost impassable to a single individual, with no 
opportunity to communicate with the rest of the world, no chance to 
secure additional supplies, no hope of reenforcements in case of 
disaster, no suitable provision for the care of the sick and wounded. 
no chance of great glory in case of success, no hope of being ex- 
cused in case of failure. It was a brave, daring, almost reckless 
movement, but successful beyond all expectation. 

The combined forces of Clinton and Sullivan began their for- 
ward movement and on the 29th of August met the Indians and 



SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION 177 

the Tories under the command of Brant, the Johnsons, and the But- 
lers, at Newtown, near the present city of Ehiiira. Although greatly 
outnumbered the Indians held their ground for nearly a whole day. 
The real leader, the one who inspired the resistance, was Brant. 
The Indians fought from behind breastworks from which they were 
driven only through the use of artillery, and even then they held 
their ground stubbornly until they were attacked on the tiank and 
were in danger of being cut off. The flanking movement of Sul- 
livan ended the battle and from that time on the expedition met 
with no resistance of any consequence. 

After the Battle of Newtown the work of Sullivan's expedition 
was that of destruction. The following places were destroyed on 
the 31st of August: Middletown, having eight houses, situated 
three miles above Newtown ; Kanawaholla, with twenty houses, 
near Elmira ; and Runonvea, with thirty or forty houses, near Big 
Flats. 

Sheoquaga, or Catherine's Town, on the site of the present vil- 
lage of Havana, was burned on the ist of September. The town 
had forty houses that were large and well built. The house occu- 
pied by Queen Esther was eighteen by thirty feet, and two stories 
in height. Queen Esther's farm was fenced, and she raised horses, 
cattle, hogs, and chickens. The place was not greatly unlike a 
modern stock farm. Queen Esther was a great granddaughter of 
Count Frontenac. Her husband was a famous Seneca chief. 

On the 3d of September Sullivan's forces destroyed a place 
since known as Peach Orchard. It was on the lake shore about 
twelve miles from Catherine's Town. The next day, Condawhaw, 
now North Hector, was burned. The following day the troops 
destroyed Kendaja, or Appletown, a place a few miles north of 
Condawhaw, that had more than twenty houses built of hewn logs. 
The town was surrounded by apple and peach orchards, which were 
also destroyed. 

On the 7th of September the army reached Kanedesaga, the cap- 



178 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

ital of the Seneca nation, often called the "Seneca Castle." It was 
a town of fifty houses and there were .about thirty others in the 
vicinity. Surrounding the town were extensive orchards and corn- 
fields. In 1756 Sir William Johnson built a stockaded fort at this 
place. It was on the site of the present city of Geneva. The army 
rested here for a day, while detachments were sent out to destroy 
the surrounding towns. Colonel Harper went about eight miles 
down the Seneca River and destroyed the Indian town of Skoi-ase, 
a place of eighteen houses, on the site of the present village of 
Waterloo. Major Parr went seven miles up the west side of Sen- 
eca Lake and destroyed the village of Shenanwaga, a town of 
twenty houses, surrounded with orchards of peach and apple 
trees, and extensive cornfields. ]Major Parr also destroyed many 
stacks of hay, great numbers of hogs and fowls, and much other 
produce. 

Kanedesaga w^as surrounded not only with numerous orchards, 
but by extensive gardens containing onions, peas, beans, squashes, 
potatoes, turnips, cabbages, cucumbers, watermelons, carrots, and 
parsnips. Then, as now, it was a wonderfully productive section 
of country. 

On the loth of September the army reached Kanandaigua, an 
Indian town on the site of the present village of Canandaigua. 
Here were twenty-three "elegant houses," some of them framed, 
others built of logs, but all large and new. The next day a march 
of fourteen miles brought the army to Haneyaye, a place of twent}' 
houses, at the foot of Honeoye Lake, near the site of the present 
village of Honeoye. 

Kanaghsaws. also called Adjuton, was reached on the 13th. It 
was a place of eighteen houses, near Conesus Lake, and about a 
mile north-west of Conesus Center. 

It was on the 12th that Lieutenant Thomas Boyd was sent out 
on what proved to be a fatal scout. Twenty-eight men accompanied 
him and all but five were killed. The detachment was surrounded 



SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION 179 

b}" a force of more than eight hundred Indians and Tories. Fifteen 
of Boyd's party were killed before he surrendered. This was the 
only resistance of any kind that the expedition met with after leaving 
Newtown. Lieutenant Boyd was subjected to tortures too horrible 
to be related here. 

The next town destroyed was Gathtsegwarohare, a place of 
twenty-five" houses, mostly new. It was on the east side of Can- 
aseraga Creek, about two miles above its junction with the Genesee. 
It was surrounded with cornfields so extensive that it took two 
thousand men six hours to destroy them. 

On the 15th of September the army reached a town known as 
Little Beard's Town, or Great Genesee Castle, or Chenandoanes ; 
sometimes one of these names is given, and sometimes the others. 
The place contained one hundred and twenty-eight houses, "most 
of which were large and elegant." Surrounding the town were 
two hundred acres of corn, and large gardens filled with all kinds 
of vegetables. This village was near Cuylersville in the town of 
Leicester. After the destruction of this place, and the crops, Sul- 
livan began his homeward march. 

Colonel Butler was detached to pass along the east shore of 
Cayuga Lake. On the 21st of September he destroyed Choharo, a 
small town at the foot of the lake. The next day he burned 
Gewauga, another small settlement where now is the village of 
Union Springs. On the 226. he reached Cayuga Castle, a village 
of fifteen large square log houses, situated on the east shore of the 
lake. One mile to the south of the Castle was Upper Cayuga, con- 
taining fourteen houses ; and two miles to the north-east was East 
Cayuga, or Old Town, as it was sometimes called, with thirteen 
houses. Both places were burned and the cornfields and orchards 
around them destroyed. 

Chonodote, a town of fourteen houses on the east shore of the 
lake, on the site now occupied by Aurora, was destroyed on the 
24th. Here were great orchards, fifteen hundred peach trees, and 



l8o EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

many apple trees. These were destroyed as well as a great quantity 
of corn. 

On the 2 1st Colonel Dearborn was detached to lay waste the 
country on the west side of Cayuga Lake. He burned six small 
towns ; one in Fayette, four miles from the lake ; a second a mile 
north of Canoga Creek ; a third on the south bank of Cayuga Creek, 
half a mile north-east of Canoga village ; the fourth a mile south of 
the last place ; the fifth in the north-east corner of the town of 
Romulus ; and the sixth three miles from the head of the lake on 
Cayuga inlet. This practically completed the work of destruction. 

Forty Indian villages had been burned ; two hundred thousand 
bushels of corn destroyed ; thousands of fruit trees cut down or 
girdled ; all the garden lands laid w^aste ; and all the horses, cattle 
and hogs killed. The Indians had been hunted like wild beasts. 
When the expedition was through with its work there was neither 
house, nor fruit tree, nor field of corn, nor garden, nor a solitary 
inhabitant in all the beautiful and fertile country which the Senecas 
and Cayugas had inhabited. 

Sullivan had been directed to go on and capture Niagara. He 
failed to do so, because he lacked provisions for the expedition ; but 
considering the supplies that he burned, and the animals that he 
killed, belonging to the Indians, one can hardly think this excuse 
valid. He does not seem to have had the decision and force of 
character necessary for such an enterprise. Had he gone on to 
Niagara he would have found there a horde of nearly five thousand 
famished savages, and a small and sickly garrison. He would have 
captured the place with ease. It is doubtful if any serious defence 
would have been made. Had he captured Niagara it would not have 
been during the following years " the headquarters of all that was 
barbarous, unrelenting, and cruel," as De Veaux declares it to have 
been. 

As it was the Indians had been terribly punished. A winter of 
great suffering was before them. About five thousand of them 



SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION l8l 

passed it at Niagara in huts which the Enghsh built for them. The 
winter was one of the coldest ever known in America, so cold that 
the harbor of New York was frozen solid enough to bear troops and 
artillery. The Indians were compelled to live on salted food and 
hundreds of them died of scurvy. Many starved and others were 
frozen. So ends the story of an expedition that inflicted more suf- 
fering than any other single movement in the early history of our 
country. 

This expedition may have been made necessary by existing 
conditions, but one cannot do otherwise than grieve over the de- 
struction of a good degree of civilization, the making of a wilder- 
ness of the most fertile part of the state, and the wide-spread 
suffering which it entailed. 

The beauty and fertility of the Genesee valley charmed every one 
who took part in the expedition, and when this country was open 
to settlers many of these men found homes there. Sullivan said 
the valley did not seem like the home of savages, but rather like the 
residence of a people skilled in agriculture. The country had the 
appearance of having been cultivated a long time. The land was 
very fertile and the corn wonderfully prolific. Some of the ears 
were twenty inches long. 

The expedition did its work with the loss of only forty men, 
less than one per cent, of the number belonging. 



GENERAL PHILIP SCHUYLER 



It is not my purpose to attempt anything- like a full biographical 
sketch of General Schuyler, but his connection with the Battle of 
Saratoga, the importance of the Schuyler family, its relation to 
other important families of the state, and its industrial and political 

importance, make some knowledge of 
Schuyler necessary to a clear understand- 
ing of some parts of our history. 

The Schuylers, Van Rensselaers, Van 
Courtlandts, and Livingstons, were closely 
related through intermarriages. Their 
large interests on the Hudson, coupled 
with their great ability, made them 
prominent and influential. The first three 
named families were Dutch. The fourth 
was originally Scotch, but through inter- 
marriages it became more Dutch than 
Scotch. 

Robert Livingston came to this coun- 
He married a daughter of Philip Pieterse 
Schuyler. At the time of her marriage to Livingston she was the 
widow of the Reverend Nicholas \'an Rensselaer. 

Philip Pieterse Schuyler, the founder of the Schuyler family in 
America, came here from Amsterdam in 1650. Peter Schuyler, 
one of his sons, played a leading part in the French and Indian 
wars from 1684 to 1724. He also held many important civil posi- 
tions, among them that of Judge, j\Iayor of the city of Albany, and 
the chairmanship of the Board of Indian Commissioners. To the 

182 




GENERAL PHILIP SCHUYLER 



try from Scotland in 1674. 



GENERAL PHILIP SCHUYLER 183 

Six Nations he was known as "Quider" (pronounced Keeder), 
they being unable to pronounce the name Peter. He was so popular 
with the Indians because of his uniformly just treatment of them 
that, at the beginning of the Revolution, when Congress wished to 
address the Six Nations and was anxious to make the most favor- 
able impression possible, it began its address as follows : " We, the 
representatives of Congress, and the descendants of ' Quider.' " 

The Schuyler family was long and intimately identified with 
the city of Albany. It furnished the city with six mayors previous 
to 1750. 

A Philip Schuyler married a Van Rensselaer of Claverack. 
His daughter married the last patroon of Van Rensselaer, and his 
son married a sister of the patroon. 

Stephanus \'an Courtlandt married a daughter of Philip Pieterse 
Schuyler. The youngest daughter of Stephanus Van Courtlandt 
was the mother of General Philip Schu}ler, who was born on the 
nth of November, 1733. He was the son of Johannes Schuyler, 
and the great grandson of Philip Pieterse Schuyler. Philip was 
only eight years old when his father died. He was brought up by 
his mother, living a part of the time in Albany, and part at the 
old Schuyler mansion at Schuylerville. 

The old mansion at Schuylerville is still standing and is in a 
fair degree of preservation, which is very remarkable when one 
remembers that it was built in seventeen days to replace the one 
burned by Burgoyne. 

It was here that the men assembled whom the Schuylers led into 
Canada on expeditions against the French and Indians. Here Lord 
Howe, Abercrombie, Amherst, Gage, Lee, Stark, Putnam, and 
other noted men were entertained. In the old family burying 
ground a little to the north of the house sleeps "Quider" and many 
of his kinsmen. 

Schuyler was with Johnson on his expedition against Crown 
Point ; with Bradstreet on his march against Oswego, and at the 



i84 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



capture of Fort Frontenac ; and with Abercrombie on his ill-fated 
expedition against Ticonderoga ; acquitting himself with credit on 
all these occasions. Nine days after the battle at Lake George he 
married "sweet Kitty V^an Rensselaer." 

During the expedition of Amherst, Schuyler was stationed at 
Albany to gather supplies and forward them to the army. Later 

THE SCHUYLER MANSION IN ALBANY 



mM^iaalSkKmS^Mm 




l^M 


r"*sr jsm-^ - i 


^9^ 


r^^lSH^^HII 







SCHUYLER MANSION AT SCHU YLERVILLE 



he went to London on business. During his absence his wife built 
a fine mansion on what is now Clinton street in the southern part 
of Albany. Here Burgoyne was entertained after his surrender. 
Here Washington, Lafayette, Count de Rochambeau, Baron Steu- 
ben, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Carroll, Aaron Burr, and other 
noted men enjoyed the hospitality of the Schuylers. Here Schviy- 
ler's daughter Elizabeth was married to Alexander Hamilton. The 
house is now used for an orphan asylum under the charge of the 
Order of St. Francis. 



GENERAL PHILIP SCHUYLER 185 

In 1768 Schuyler was chosen member of the Assembly and was 
associated with such men as James De Lancey, Philip Livingston, 
Isaac Low, John Cruger, John Alsop, Frederick Philipse, George 
Clinton, and Pierre Van Courtlandt. 

In the dispute between New York and New England over terri- 
torial boundaries Schuyler was very active in sustaining the claims 
of New York, and in doing so he incurred enmities that were des- 
tined to bring him disappointment at a later day. 

Schuyler, like many others, foresaw the coming of hostilities 
between the colonies and the mother country. On the outbreak of 
the war he was one of the four Major Generals appointed by Con- 
gress. The appointment was in every way a most fitting one. 
Schu\ler was a man of ability. He had had an extensive and varied 
experience. He had been a delegate to the Continental Congress, 
a member of the Assembly of New York, and had held other im- 
portant civil positions. He had been to England and knew the Eng- 
lish people. He was widely acquainted with prominent men in the 
colonies. He had served in the army, both in the field and in the 
commissary department, and with distinction in both capacities. 
But from the first there were those in Congress who favored Gates 
rather than Schuyler, and they, and Gates himself, were continually 
intriguing to advance Gates at the expense of Schuyler. The ene- 
mies which the latter had made at the time of the territorial contro- 
versy between New York and New England were bitter against 
him. 

Gates, through the scheming of his friends, secured the com- 
mand at Ticonderoga. This made him a subordinate of vSchuyler. 
Instead of remaining at Ticonderoga and strengthening that post to 
meet the advance of Piurgoyne, he spent most of his time in Albany, 
circulating slanderous reports regarding his superior officer. When 
Burgoyne appeared before Ticonderoga, Gates was elsewhere. 

After the surrender of Ticonderoga, which the colonists very 
mistakenly regarded as impregnable, there was such demoralization 



l86 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

among the American troops, and such dismay among the American 
people, that it was remarkable that Schuyler was able to offer any 
resistance to Burgo}ne's advance, yet so watchful was he. and so 
quickly did he take advantage of Burgoyne's mistakes, that the latter 
was weeks in going from Whitehall to Fort Edward, a distance he 
ought to have made in a few days. What was needed was time for 
the Americans to recover from the shock and demoralization inci- 
dent to the surrender of Ticonderoga. This Schuyler afforded by 
his tactics. At this time of the country's greatest need, when every 
one should have rallied to the support of Schuyler, Gates, and his 
supporters in Congress and elsewhere, were making every possible 
effort to discredit him, and at this time of fear and excitement it is 
not to be wondered at that they had some measure of success, so 
nmch that Schuyler was unable to inspire confidence enough, so 
that it was wise to replace him with some other commander. It 
was pitiable that a man who lacked neither ability nor activity, 
should, through no failure on his own part, be compelled to lose his 
command, and that that command should go to one who, while act- 
ing as his subordinate, h.ad slandered and maligned him ; to a man 
who had no fitness for the position ; and whose record throughout 
the Revolution had nothing in it to commend and much to condemn. 
That this man should succeed Schuyler, after victory had become 
certain, and reap the credit that Schuyler had earned, was the very 
irony of fate. 

WHien Gates was appointed to succeed Schuyler the latter might 
properlv have left the army at once, but instead of doing so he 
received Gates courteously, gave him all his maps and charts, and 
offered any assistance it was in his power to give. Gates com- 
pletely ignored him. However, time rights many things. Later, 
Gates went south and fully demonstrated his lack of ability. As 
president of the Conway Cabal he showed what manner of man he 
was. The world knows nmv that the Battle (^f Saratoga was won 
bv Schuvler, Arnold, and Morgan ; and that Gates contributed nothr 



GENERAL PHILIP SCHUYLER 187 

ing toward winning that victory. His sole work at Saratoga was 
the temporary humiliation of one who was a most worthy man, and 
an excellent officer. Later, even Webster, with all his New England 
prejudices, ranked Schuyler next to Washington. 

After Schuyler was superseded by Gates he demanded a court 
of inquiry, which was granted. He was exonerated from every 
charge that had ever been made against him. After this report 
Schuyler resigned his commission and was soon after elected dele- 
gate to the Continental Congress. He was a member of the State 
Senate from 1780 to 1790. Philip Schuyler and Rufus King were 
the first two United States Senators from Xew York. Schuyler 
was chosen for the short term. He was again elected in 1797 in 
place of Aaron Burr, but resigned soon on account of ill health. 
He died in his seventv-first vear. 



BURGOYNE'S INVASION 

"Three threatening strands were woven by the Crown; 
One stretching up Chaniplain; one reaching down 
The Mohawk Valley whose green depths retained 
Its Tory heart, Fort Stanwix scarce restrained; 
And one of Hudson's flood; the three to link 
Where stood Albania's gables by its brink." 

Alfred B. Street 

The campaign of 1776 had resulted disastrously for the Ameri- 
cans. They were driven out of Canada and terribly beaten at the 
Uattle of Long Island. Quebec and New York were in the hands of 
the British. It seemed an opportune moment for a combined move- 
ment to sever the New England colonies from the rest of the coun- 
tr}- and conquer the two sections in turn. This was, in brief, the 
])lan of Burgoyne. He was to march southward from Canada, 
coming through the lakes and going as far south as Albany. St. 
Leger was to come dowai the Mohawk from Oswego. Howe was to 
come up the Hudson. The plan was a most plausible one. Bur- 
goyne hoped to end the war by this movement and become the 
British hero of the time, but 

"The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men 
Gang aft a-gley. " 

I^urgoyne spent the winter of 1776-77 in London where he 
worked out the details of his plan and secured its approval. He 
received his orders then, but Howe did not receive his till the i6th 
of August when he was just entering the Chesajicake l>ay, alto- 
gether too late for him to cooperate with Burgoyne. 

188 



BURGOYNE'S INVASION 



189 



At the opening of the campaign Howe had thirty thousand men 
in New York, and there were ten thousand British soldiers in Can- 
ada. The British were in possession of New York, all of Canada, 
and the lakes as far south as Ticonderoga, that post and all the terri- 




ROUTE OF THE BURGOYNE EXPEDITION 



tory south of it being in the possession of the Americans. The 
British held Foj-t Oswego on the lake, and the Americans occupied 
Fort Stanwix at Rome. 

Burgoyne had about seven thousand soldiers thoroughly 
equipped. Besides these he had Indians, Canadians, and American 
refugees, making his whole force about ten thousand men. He 
reached Lake Champlain by the middle of June. On the first of 
July he appeared before Ticonderoga. This place was commanded 



iQo EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

by General St. Clair, who had a force of about twenty-five hundred 
men. He was soon reenforced by nine hundred militia, but even 
then his force was less than half that of Burgoyne. Ticonderoga 
was generally considered almost impregnable and the people were 
confident that it would hold out against Burgoyne, but their belief 
w'as not well founded. Long before Montcalm had declared that 
it could not stand a siege, and said it was "a trap for some honest 
man to disgrace himself in." 

Ticonderoga was overlooked by Mount Defiance, which the 
Americans neither fortified nor occupied. This mountain and the 
other heights in the vicinity were promptly occupied by the British, 
and Ticonderoga was no longer tenable. The following night the 
Americans made a hasty retreat taking with them such of the can- 
non as they could and spiking the remainder. 

"Led on by lust of lucre and renown, 
Burgoyne came marching with his thousands down. 
High were his thoughts and furious his career, 
Puff'd with self-confidence and pride severe; 
SwoU'n with the idea of his future deeds. 
Onward to ruin each advantage leads." — Philip Freneau 

Before reaching Ticonderoga Burgoyne said : "The enemy will 
probably fight at Ticonderoga. Of course I shall beat them. I will 
give them no time to rally. When they hear that St. Leger is in 
the valley their panic will be complete. We shall have a little 
promenade of eight days to Albany." It looked as though Bur- 
goyne was right. Already the panic was complete ; but for some 
unaccountable reason Burgoyne, who had planned to go to the 
Hudson by the way of Lake George, changed his mind and went 
by the way of Skenesborough (Whitehall). This change of route 
brought him into endless trouble which will be considered later. 

On his retreat St. Clair was overtaken at Skenesborough, and 
forced to abandon his galleys. He destroyed the fort and mills 



BURGOYNE'S INVASION 19! 

and hurried on through the wilderness to Hubbardton. There he 
left a small force under Colonel Warner, and then moved on to 
Castleton, six miles distant. Later Warner was joined by Colonel 
Francis. They remained at Hubbardton over night and were at- 
tacked the next day by the British under General Frazer. The 
Americans were defeated after a hard fought battle in which the 
British lost two hundred men. The American loss was three hun- 
dred, including the brave Colonel Francis. 

St. Clair joined General Schuyler at Fort Edward on the 12th 
of July, going by the way of Rutland, Manchester, and Bennington. 
The Americans were thoroughly demoralized and had Burgoyne 
been in position to follow up his advantage quickly he might have 
had "a promenade of eight days to Albany," but he made a serious 
mistake in taking the Skenesborough route instead of going by the 
way of Lake George. From the latter place to the Hudson he would 
have found fair roads and he could not have been greatly hindered 
in his movements. The road from Skenesborough to the Hudson 
was through a low, marshy country, barely passable for footmen, 
and, until roads were made, wholly impassable for artillery and 
heavy stores. Miles of corduroy road had to be made and many 
bridges built. The Americans felled great trees into Wood Creek 
so that it was impassable, and blocked the roads with fallen timber 
so that the British had to stop and remove the fallen trees every 
ten or twelve rods of the way. It was twenty-six miles from 
Skenesborough to Fort Edward, and Burgoyne was twenty-four 
days in making the distance, a distance that he could have made in 
two days had the way been clear. This delay was fatal as it gave 
the Americans time to recover from their panic, which they did in 
some measure. 

The northern American army was under the command of Gen- 
eral Philip Schuyler. Flis force was not strong enough to warrant 
an engagement with Burgoyne, so he abandoned Fort lulward three 
days before Burgoyne reached it. He withdrew to Moses Creek, 



192 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



four miles below Fort Edward, then a week later to Fort Miller, 
after that to Saratoga, and finally to Stillwater. He was so elated 
at being able to withdraw with all his artillery that he said he 
"believed the enemy would not see Albany this campaign." At this 
time Schuyler had about four thousand men, less than half as many 
as Burgoyne. Aside from the disparity of numbers there was 

confidence on the part of the British and 
despondency among the x\mericans. The 
British were well armed and equipped. 
The Americans were poorly armed, poor- 
ly clothed, and lacked in equipment in al- 
most every particular. The British army 
was composed of the best trained soldiers 
Great Britain could furnish. The Amer- 
ican army was largely made up of un- 
trained and undisciplined men. 

The American people were despond- 
ent, but the leaders became confident as 
Burgoyne delayed his movements. Not 
only was Schu}ler confident, but \\'ash- 
ington expressed the opinion that the 
success of Burgoyne at the outset "would 
precipitate his ruin." He further said, "His acting in detachments is 
the course of all others most favorable to the American cause. . . . 
Could we be so happy as to cut ofif one of them, supposing it should 
not exceed four, five, or six hundred men, it would inspirit the people 
and do away with much of their present anxiety. In such an event 
they would lose sight of past misfortune, and, urged at the same time 
by a regard for their own security, they would lly to arms and 
afiford every aid in their power." This prophecy was soon proved 
to be correct. The troubles of Burgoyne began at Skenesborough. 
His progress was necessarily slow, not only because of the obstruc- 
tions thrown in his way, but also because his supplies had to be 




GENERAL BURGOY.NE 



BURGOYNE'S INVASION '193 

broug^ht from Canada, a long distance away. He was from the 30tli 
of July to the 15th of August in accumulating provisions for an 
onward movement. He had been led to believe that as soon as 
his arm}- appeared there would be a great number of loyalists who 
would furnish him with a large amount of provisions, and his dis- 
appointment in this matter was a source of great embarrassment to 
him. While he was waiting for provisions from Canada, he learned 
that great quantities of flour, corn, and cattle had been gathered at 
Bennington, and that it was guarded only by a small force of 
militia. 

THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 

Burgoyne determined to send an expedition to Bennington for 
the double purpose of securing needed supplies and over-awing the 
countrv. Colonel Baum with about a thousand men set out for Ben- 
nington on the nth of July. On the 14th he was confronted with a 
force equal to or greater than his own under the command of 
General John Stark. Having been instructed by Burgoyne not to 
risk an engagement with a superior force, Colonel Baum threw up 
intrenchments and sent a messenger to Burgoyne. Stark also was 
reluctant to risk an engagement before the arrival of Colonel War- 
ner to whom he had sent for aid. Both sides waited for reenforce- 
ments all day on the 15th. Burgoyne had sent Colonel Breyman 
with eight hundred fifty men to reenforce Baum, and on the morn- 
ing of the 15th Warner left Manchester to join Stark who had 
in the meantime been joined by several hundred Massachusetts 
militia. Stark was now ready to fight and on the i6th made his 
attack on 15aum. who fought behind intrenchments and had can- 
non, while Stark with no artillery was forced to fight in the 
open, but he outnumbered his opponent. The battle began at 
three o'clock in the afternoon. Stark pointed to the enemy's 
redoubt and said, "There, my lads, are the Hessians ! To-night our 
tlag floats over yonder hill, or Molly Stark is a widow!" The fight 



194 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



was a severe one, but ended in tlie capture of most of Baum's 
force. Soon after the fight was over while Stark's men were in 
disorder, having no thought of a rescuing force, Breyman appeared, 
and but for the timely arrival of Warner, who immediately took a 
position betw^een Breyman and Stark's scattered forces giving the 
latter time to rally, the victory would have been turned into a rout. 
As it was, the fight with Breyman was quite as stubborn as that with 
Baum earlier in the day. Breyman was finally defeated and forced 
to retire in disorder with severe losses. The Americans took seven 
hundred prisoners, captured four cannon, a thousand stand of 
arms, and a thousand dragoon swords. Two hundred of the British 
were killed, while the loss of the Americans was fourteen killed and 
forty-two wounded. 

Though always spoken of as the Battle of Bennington, and the 
monument commemorating the victory is in \"ermont, both actions 
took place in the town of Hoosick, New York. 

The result of this action was a severe blow to Burgoyne. From 
this time on all his supplies must come from Canada, hundreds of 
miles away, and all that long line must be protected, a task of con- 
stantly increasing difficulty, as he advanced farther south. Stark's 
victory was sure to arouse the country and add to the number of 
Burgoyne's opponents, and also greatly increase their confidence in 
ultimate success. At the same time his own force must constantly 
decrease. He had no way of making good his losses, and as his 
line lengthened and his enemies gathered courage he must add to 
the number who were protecting his communications and so lessen 
the number of men available for an aggressive movement. A few 
days later a courier brought news of the Battle of Oriskany, and 
hope of relief through the advance of St. Leger grew dim. 

It may be well at this time to give a brief sketch of St. Leger's 
movements. When Burgoyne started with his army up through the 
lakes, St. Leger organized a force at Oswego, and was to pass up 
the river to Oneida Lake, through the lake and into Wood's Creek. 



BURGOYNE'S INVASION 195 

then across to the headwaters of the Alohawk, then down the val- 
ley to Albany, cooperating with Burgoyne in such ways as might 
be deemed advisable. The Americans held Fort Stanwix w'hich 
commanded the carry from Wood's Creek to the Mohawk. At 
this point St. Leger's advance was arrested and he was obliged to 
abandon his expedition. It was not until after the Battle of Ben- 
nington that Burgoyne learned of St. Leger's defeat which occurred 
some time earlier. After the receipt of this news Burgoyne knew 
that his success or failure depended on his own efforts alone. 

JANE MCCREA 

The story of the murder of Jane AlcCrea was told with many 
embellishments and aroused the greatest indignation among all 
classes and greatly harmed Burgoyne's cause. It aided much in 
bringing recruits to the American army, and Burgoyne, who was 
a tender and sympathetic man, was so aroused that at the outset he 
was determined to hang the guilty Indian, and in the end refused to 
let any more Indians go out on any expedition unless a British 
officer went with them. This led to the desertion of all his 
Indian allies. The story of the murder of Miss ]\IcCrea has been 
told again and again and in almost as many different ways as there 
were tellers of the story. Stone gives the version substantially as 
follows in the article he wrote for Appleton's Cyclopredia of Amer- 
ican Biography. Miss McCrea was engaged to be married to David 
Jones, a loyalist who was serving as lieutenant in Burgoyne's army. 
Jones sent a party of Indians under a half-breed named Duluth to 
escort Miss McCrea to the British camp where they were to be mar- 
ried by the chaplain Mr. Brudenell. Aliss McCrea was the daugh- 
ter of a Scotch clergyman who lived at Paulus Hook, but at this 
time she was visiting her friend, IMrs. ]\IcXeil, at Fort Edward. 
Before the half-breed Duluth reached the house of Mrs. McNeil, 
the Wyandot Panther, also known as Le Loup, attacked the 
house and carried off Miss McCrea and her aunt. Duluth and 



196 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



the Panther and their parties met near a sprinj:^ and Duhith insisted 
on taking the girl with him. There was a quarrel between the two 
Indians and finally the Panther drew a pistol and shot Miss McCrea. 
With the multitude of versions of the story it is not likely that 

the exact truth will ever be 
known, but the above version is 
as probable as any. 

The Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution have erected a 
monument to the memory of 
Jane McCrea near the spot 
where she was killed. 

Schuyler, who from the first 
was far from being popular, 
either with the army or with the 
])eople, steadily lost in popular- 
ity. His gradual retreat before 
Burgoyne was regarded as proof 
of his inefficiency. After the 
Battle of Oriskany Gansevoort 
called on Schuyler for assist- 
ance. A council was called to 
consider the matter. All of Schuyler's associates were opposed to 
sending aid to Gansevoort, saying it would leave them too weak 
to resist Burgoyne. Schuyler tried to convince them that it would be 
good policy to relieve Gansevoort and defeat St. Leger. While the 
matter was under consideration he heard a half whispered remark 
that he was trying to weaken the army. Turning at once and facing 
the one who uttered the slander he said : "Gentlemen, I shall take 
the responsibility upon myself. Where is the brigadier that will 
take command of the relief?" Arnold at once volunteered and the 
following morning left with eight hundred men who were also 
volunteers. The result showed the wisdom of Schuvler. 




JANE MlCREA monument 



BURGOYNE'S INVASION 



197 



Gates took command on the 19th of August, three days after 
the Battle of Bennington, and thirteen days after Herkimer's fight 
at Oriskany, two events that made the fate of Burgoyne's army 
only a question of time. Schuyler had already practically secured 
a victor}-. Gates had only to wait for the laurels. 

The army was continually receiving additions and by the 8th 
of September Gates had six thousand men. He then marched to 
Stillwater, and four days later to Bemis 
Heights where he awaited the attack of 
Burgoyne. 

Ever since the Battle of Bennington 
General Lincoln had been gathering the 
New England militia at Manchester. 
In a short time he had an army of two 
thousand men. He employed them in 
efforts to break Burgoyne's line of com- 
munication, and in harassing his out- 
posts. He sent Colonel Brown to Lake 
George with five hundred men. Brown 
captured three hundred prisoners, re- 
leased more than a hundred Americans, 
and destroyed a great quantity of stores. 
Lincoln also sent detachments to 
Skenesborough and Ticonderoga, but they failed to do more than 
annoy the enemy. 

The Americans at Saratoga suffered so much from the Indians 
that Washington sent Colonel Morgan with five hundred picked 
riflemen to assist Gates. After the expedition to Lake George 
Lincoln joined Gates with his whole force at the urgent request 
of the latter. 

The beginning of the end was now at hand. B.urgoyne was 
not strong enough to advance and he would not retreat. Lie was 
no longer able to keep open his line of communication with Canada. 




GENERAL HORATIO GATES 



198 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



lie had on hand supphes for about a month. He must win suc- 
cess within that time or not at alL His advance had been stopped. 
Confidence had given place to indecision. Hope had well nigh 
disappeared. Despair was in the hearts of the soldiers. His only 
chance was in successful battle. On the 8th of September he 
crossed the Hudson. On the 19th he fought 
the Battle of Bemis Heights which was not 
decisive. He fought a second battle on 
nearly the same ground on the 7th of Octo- 
ber which resulted favorably to the Ameri- 
cans. It was at this battle that Arnold 
distinguished himself. Although without a 
command, and not even having permission 
to fight, late in the afternoon when he could 
not longer keep himself in restraint he 
mounted his horse and putting himself at 
the head of three regiments who received 
their old commander wath cheers, he en- 
tered the hottest of the fight before Gates 
could stop him. Arnold and Morgan car- 
ried off the honors of the day. Arnold, w^io 
was without a command, was the most prom- 
inent and important figure in the battle. 
Near the close of the fight Arnold's horse 
was shot under him, and he himself wounded 
severely in the leg which had been shattered 
at Quebec two years before. At this time Wilkinson reached him, 
bearing an order from Gates directing him to return to camp lest 
he should "do some rash thing." 

After this engagement Burgoyne attempted to retreat but found 
himself hemmed in on every hand, and finally surrendered his whole 
army at Schuylerville on the 17th of October. 

At the time of the surrender of the British the American army 




SAKATOC.A HA I I l.K 
MONUMENT 



BURGOYNE'S INVASION 



199 



numbered about twenty-five tbousand men. The number of prison- 
ers taken was five thousand seven hundred ninety-one. Forty-two 
pieces of artillery, five thousand muskets, a large amount of am- 
munition, and a great quantity of stores were captured. All these 
were greatly needed by the Americans to fit them for future 
service. 

While the Battle of Saratoga may be regarded as being decisive 
of the conflict between Great Britain and her colonies, yet the bat- 
tle was far from ending the war, w'hich dragged on for three more 
weary years. 

The corner stone of the monument erected to commemorate 
one of the "decisive battles of the world" was laid on the 17th 
of October, 1877, just one hundred years after the surrender at 
Schuylerville. The monument was not completed till June, 1883. 
The shaft is twenty feet square at its base and rests on a plinth 
forty feet square. The monument is one hundred fifty-five feet in 
height, and is on a hill two hundred forty feet above the river. 
The view from the upper openings of the monument is exceptionally 
fine. To the north are the villages of Fort Miller, Fort Edward, 
Sandy Flill, and Glens Falls ; while farther on are the mountains 
around Lake George, and eighty miles away, but still visible on a 
clear day, are the peaks of Marcy and the other Adirondack giants. 
The outlook to the north is over historic ground. To the east are 
the Green Mountains of Vermont, and toward the south may be seen 
the Catskills. 

THE BATTLE OF ORISKANY 

The glorious part that New York played in the Revolution has 
not been well told. Others have written our history. The world 
know^s the story of Bunker Hill. Lexington, and Concord, but we 
ourselves hardly know that of the Battle of Oriskany, which was' 
more stubbornly fought than any other battle of the Revolution, 
and was second to none other in its consequences. It made Sara- 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



toga, one of the decisive battles of the workl. possible. Many of 
our school histories do not mention the battle of Oriskany, and 
those that do treat it with scant courtesy. 

You have already had the story of Burgoyne's splendid army 
and its imposing movement up Lake Champlain, the defeat of Baum 

at Bennington, the failure of Howe to 
cooperate with Burgoyne, the latter's 
check at Saratoga, and his final sur- 
render. 

The relation of the movement of St. 
Leger to the success of Burgoyne is yet 
to be told. That is the theme of this 
story. 

Rimiors of the proposed movement 
of St. Leger were current in the valley 
early in June, and they were soon con- 
firmed by a fricndl\- half-breed Oneida 
who had been employed as a scout. At 
first the news paralyzed the patriots. 
Some of the wavering ones went over 
to the Tories, but when the time for 
action came there was no hesitation. General Herkimer had noti- 
fied every man from sixteen years of age to sixty to be ready for 
instant service when called u])on. 

Fort Schuyler, known at an earlier date as Fort Stanwix, was 
where the city of Rome now stands. It commanded the carry from 
Wood Creek to the headwaters of the Mohawk. Colonel Ganse- 
voort was stationed here with nearly a thousand men. This fort 
must be captured before St. Leger could pass down the valley to 
cooperate with Burgoyne. On the ist of August the enemy ap- 
peared before the fort. The siege began on the 4th. 

As soon as St. Leger was known to have reached Oneida Lake 
General Herkimer summoned the militia of the valley. By the 3d 




GEN. NICHOLAS HERKIMER 



BURGOYNE'S INVASION 



20 1 



of August about eight hundred fifty had gathered at Fort Dayton, 
near the mouth of West Canada Creek. They were under the 
command of General Herkimer who was assisted by Colonels Cox, 
Bellinger, Klock, and X'isscher. who were in command of the frag- 
ments of their respective regiments. Some of the friendly Oneidas 
joined the force. 

St. Leger's command, made up of Uritish regulars, Tories, and 
Indians, numbered about seventeen hundred fifty, about the same 
number as the combined forces of Gansevoort and Herkimer. 
^^'hile some writers have spoken of St. Leger's force as being 
■' a motley crowd," it is far from true that it was an inefifective force. 
The regular troops were picked men, Johnson's Tories were well 
armed and disciplined, while the Indians 
were under the command of Brant, the 
ablest of all the Indian war chiefs, and 
with him were the bravest and most 
skilful of the Six Nations. 

On the afternoon of the 4th of Au- 
gust Herkimer reached Oriskany, a little 
village about eight miles west of Utica, 
at the point where the Oriskany Creek 
enters the INIohawk. This was only 
about six miles from Fort Schuyler, 
which had been completely invested by 
St. Leger that same day. 

From this point Herkimer sent three 
scouts to the fort to notify Colonel 
Gansevoort of his approach. He asked 
Gansevoort to fire three guns as a signal as soon as the scouts 
reached him, and to be prepared to make a sortie at the same time 
that he (Herkimer) attacked St. Leger. 

On the morning of the 6th, the day of the fateful battle, no 
word had been received from Gansevoort, nor had the signal guns 




COLONEL GANSEVOORT 



202 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

been fired. As the day wore on the men became impatient and 
demanded to be led against the enemy, but Herkimer knew that his 
force was not strong enough to warrant an attack without coopera- 
tion from the garrison and he would not move. 

The Herkimers were the great family of the valley, and because 
of this there was jealousy of the General. Herkimer was an uned- 
ucated German who could not speak English well, while many of 
his officers were well educated, and this fact added to the feeling 
against him. But that which added distrust to jealousy was the 
fact that Herkimer had a brother, brothers-in-law, and nephews, 
who were Tories. A brother of his was at this time with Johnson, 
and a brother-in-law was one of the chief loyalists of the valley. 

There was a difference of opinion as to why no word had come 
from Gansevoort. Some thought that the signal had been given, 
and not heard ; others that the scouts had been captured ; and still 
others thought that they had been delayed in getting into the fort ; 
the last supposition being correct. The feeling in favor of an 
immediate advance grew in intensity. The various officers spoke 
strongly on the subject, some of them bitterly, one finally saying that 
they needed to know whether they had a patriot or a Tory at their 
head. Even this was borne by Herkimer who felt himself responsi- 
ble for the lives of his men. But when one said "At least we are 
not cowards," Herkimer was touched and replied, "You ! You will 
be the first to run when you see the British." The epithets of "Tory" 
and "coward" were hurled at the General till he could bear it no 
longer and he cried out, "If you will have it so the blood be on your 
own heads," and waving his sword he shouted "Vorwarts !" 

So began the ill-fated movement. In the meantime St. Leger, 
who had learned of the presence of Herkimer's force, had sent 
Brant and the Indians, together with the Royal Greens, and some 
of the Rangers, to check his advance. Brant laid an ambush, cir- 
cular in form, at a point where the road crossed a marshy ravine. 
This was two miles from Herkimer's camp. 



BURGOYNE'S INVASION 203 

The forward movement of Herkimer's force began in confusion. 
Xo scouts were sent out in advance. Herkimer, the trained Indian 
tighter and experienced frontiersman, had been goaded into a move- 
ment that his judgment did not approve. Two miles forward, and 
then the Httle army, if it were an army rather than a tumultuous 
and unorganized crowd, thoughtlessly and ignorantly marched into 
the deadly ambush. Colonel Cox, who was one of those who had 
been most bitter in their attacks on General Herkimer, fell at the 
first fire. The whole force, save the rear guard, which promptly 
fled as Herkimer said they would, were within the ambuscade. 
The point where they entered was cjuickly occupied and they were 
within a ring of fire. Herkimer cried out, " ]My God, here it is ! " 
His horse was shot under him and liis leg was shattered by the 
same ball that killed his horse. He refused to be taken from the 
field, and was placed on his saddle at the foot of a tree. Here he 
lighted his pipe and directed the fight as calmly as he would have 
overlooked the common affairs of life. 

For a time the fight was simply a slaughter, so utterly unpre- 
pared, and so completely surprised, were the men of Herkimer's 
command. But they were brave and some degree of order was 
finally secured. They formed themselves into a circle facing* their 
enemies. Still they were gradually being pressed back and their 
extermination seemed certain. 

A terrific thunderstorm broke upon the contestants. So bitter 
had been the fight that no one had noticed its approach. The rain 
fell in torrents making the continuation of the struggle impossible. 
The storm continued for an hour, and the time was used by Herki- 
mer in getting his men in better position. He had noticed during the 
fight that his men had sheltered themselves behind trees, one man 
to a tree, and that when one of them fired an Indian would rush 
forward and tomahawk him before he could reload. 

To prevent such tactics Herkimer placed two men behind each 
tree, and when the fighting was renewed after the storm was over 



204 



EARLY NEW YCJRK HISTORY 



the Indians continued the same method of fighting as before, and 
when one of them ran forward he was shot by the second man 
behind the tree. From this time on the fighting went against the 
Indians. 

It was during the storm that the belated signal came from the 
fort. Immediately after the storm ceased Colonel Willett sallied 
from the fort and attacked first the camp of St. Leger, then tliat 
of the Indians ; nearly all of the latter were fighting Herkimer, and 
St. Leger was across the river, but Sir John Johnson was in his 
camp sitting in his shirt sleeves. He had a very narrow escape 
from the fort and attacked first the camp of St. Leger, then that 
on his coat. Colonel Willett captured Johnson's private papers, 
five British flags, clothing, blankets, and other stores, and returned 
to the fort without the loss of a man. 

During the fight after the storm the Tories resorted to an 
artifice that came near being disastrous to the patriots. The Royal 
Greens disguised themselves and claimed to be a party from the 
fort, but Captain Gardenier discovered the trick in time to avert 
disaster, though not soon enough to prevent the fiercest fight of the 
day. The surprise, the discreditable deception, and the bitterness 
whicli existed between the Tories and the patriots in the valley, all 
conspired to add to the stubbornness of the conflict that followed, 
and which resulted in the retreat of the Tories after heavy losses. 

In the latter part of the battle the Indians sufifered severely, 
losing many of their chiefs. They soon raised their loud retreating 
crv of "Oonah !" and fled from the field. The battle had lasted six 
hours. The losses on both sides had been terrible. In no other 
battle of the Revolution was so large a proportion of the men 
engaged killed or wounded. About one-third of all engaged on 
both sides were disabled. Both sides claimed the victory, but the 
Americans remained in possession of the field. 

After the battle General Herkimer was taken to his home a few 
miles below Little Falls. Here his leg was amputated and the 



BURGOYNE'S INVASION 



205 



operation being unskilfully performed blood poisoning followed, 
and he died a few days later. 

The house in which General Herkimer lived is still standing- and 
is in a fair state of preservation. The track of the West Shore 
railroad passes within a few yards of it. The Central Railroad is 




GENERAL HERKiIiER'S HOUSE 

on the opposite side of the river, but one sitting on the river side 
of the car can readily see the old Herkimer house. 

Fort Schuyler continued to be closely invested after the battle 
at Oriskany. St. Leger demanded its surrender, saying that Herki- 
mer's army had been completely annihilated, and that Burgoyne had 
reached Albany ; that the losses of the Indians had been severe, 
and that it was with much difficulty that he could secure their con- 
sent to spare the lives of the garrison, and if resistance was con- 
tinued he would not be responsible for the consequences. 

Undoubtedly St. Leger thought that Herkimer had been so thor- 
oughly crippled that no more trouble need be apprehended from the 



2o6 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

patriots in the valley, and in most cases his reasoning would have 
been correct. When militia fight so stubbornly that one-quarter 
of their number is killed they cannot be expected to rally for another 
fight soon, but the men of the valley were not ordinary men, nor 
were the conditions of the usual sort. These men were fighting, 
not merely for their country, and their property, but for their lives, 
and the lives of their wives and children. For sixteen days longer 
St. Leger continued his investment of Fort Schuyler, and during 
all that time the spirit of opposition grew from day to day. 

St. Leger's summons to surrender the fort was refused. During 
the night Colonel Willett and a companion named Stockwell passed 
out of the fort and made their way through the enemy's lines to 
General Schuyler, whom they begged to send aid to Gansevoort. 
The result of that appeal has already been given. Arnold with a 
force of volunteers was soon on the way, and some of the militia 
of the valley joined him, but he knew that he was not strong 
enough to warrant a direct attack. If he succeeded it must be by 
stratagem. He captured several Tories, among the number being 
Hon Yost Schuyler, a half-witted spy, who was tried and con- 
demned to death, but his mother pleaded so hard for his life that 
Arnold finally agreed to free him if he would promise to go to the 
camp of St. Leger and tell the Indians that Arnold was coming to 
the relief of Fort Schuyler with a great force. A brother of Hon 
Yost was kept as a hostage to sufifer in the place of ?Ion Yost in 
case the latter did not keep his agreement. With bullet holes in his 
coat, and terror in his face, Hon Yost entered the British camp and 
told his story of the coming of Arnold, which story was confirmed 
by a friendly Oneida who was sent into the camp to see if Hon 
Yost did as he agreed. 

St. Leger learned that one cannot deal with the savages without 
in some w-ay suffering the consequences. The Indians had lost 
more than a hundred of their best warriors, including some of their 
prominent chiefs, and they were sullen and insubordinate. They 



BURGOYNE'S INVASION 



207 



stood in great fear of Arnold and the news of Hon Yost frightened 
them terribly. St. Leger could not induce them to maintain the 
siege any longer. In order to induce them to join the expedition 
St. Leger had told the Indians that they would not have any fight- 
ing to do, but as a matter of fact they had borne the brunt of it, 
and were thoroughly sick of the campaign. Without the Indians 




FORT HERKIMER CHURCH EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR 



St. Leger could not maintain the siege, in fact it would be unsafe 
for him to have them in his rear. Some of the Indians got drunk, 
and began to assault the soldiers. Others deserted. The next day 
the army of St. Leger was in full flight. During this retreat many 
of his men were killed by the Indians of his command. So ended 
the expedition of St. Leger. Only a miserable remnant of his com- 
mand reached Canada. All his tents, stores, artillery, and other 
supplies fell into the hands of the Americans. With his retreat all 
hope for Burgoyne came to an end. His surrender was now only 
a question of time. Not only was the outcome of St. Leger's 



2o8 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

expedition directl}' disastrous to Burgoyiie, but beyond doubt it j^re- 
vented a Tory uprising in the Mohawk valley, and a complete union 
of the Iroquois against us. 

It is said that the first American flag was unfurled at Fort 
Schuyler at the time of St. Leger's invasion. The blue came from 
a soldier's jacket, the white from his shirt, and the red from a 
woman's petticoat. 

Herkimer, Gansevoort and Oriskany are names that should not 
be forgotten. If they are not to be perpetuated through our school 
histories, some other means should be found to make them known 
to the young people of the Empire State. They will not soon be 
forgotten in the valley. 

In 1876, under the auspices of the Oneida Historical. Society, a 
granite monument eighty feet high was erected in commemoration 
of the battle. It is placed near where Herkimer sat under a tree 
directing the battle after he w'as wounded. The monument is just 
west of the village of Oriskany, and can be seen from the car win- 
dows on either the West Shore or Central trains. 

One who wishes to know fully the spirit of those times, and get 
a clear idea of the conditions that existed in the ]\Iohawk valley, 
just previous to and during the Revolution, should read Harold 
Frederic's "In the Valley." 



THE GREAT WAR-PATH 



A GREAT valley stretches from the St. Lawrence River to New 
York Bay. The highest point in this whole distance of three hun- 
dred fifty miles is only 147 feet above sea level. This highest 
point is between Fort Edward 
and Fort Anne, on the old In- 
dian carry from the Hudson 
River to the head of Lake 
Champlain. Before any dams 
were built on the rivers the 
whole distance from New York 
to Montreal, with the exception 
of about twenty miles, was navi- 
gable for small boats, and far the 
greater part of the distance was 
navigable for vessels of the larg- 
est size. It was a great natural 
waterway between th.e two cities, 
route, so in the carl\- days it was the great war-path of this country. 
The value of this route was greatly enhanced from the fact that it 
connected with another natural route to the west, through the 
]\l(jha\\k valle\-. tlie only wide opvn way from the Atlantic to the 
Mississippi, in the whole Appalachian range. 

Over this great natural highway from the St. Lawrence to the 
Hudson, Indian war i)arties came and went for centuries before 
the coming of the white men. Over this path the French and their 
Indian allies swept down from the north upon the frontier settle- 
ments of our state with war-whoop, tomahawk, and scalping knife. 

209 




THE GREAT WAR-PATH 



As now it is a <jreat commercial 



210 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Over the same course the English and Iroquois went on their er- 
rands of retahation. 

It was by this same pathway that the Enghsh came during the 
Revolution hoping to sever the rebellious colonies in twain, and 
subdue each section in turn. 

When the first white men came to this country the Indians had 
already christened this natural route of travel "the dark and bloody 
ground," and it was a fitting title for many long years after. 

It would take a volume, and not a small one either, to tell fully 
the history connected with this great war-path, but some knowledge 
of the principal movements should be known to us all. A few of 
these will be briefly sketched in the order in which they occurred. 

As you have already learned, the Iroquois first settled in the 
valley of the St. Lawrence, from which they were ultimately 
driven. On their retreat from that country a portion of them at 
least came up along this route and settled in the valley of the 
Mohawk. They were not a forgiving people and their enemies to 
the north were frequently attacked, and in turn attacked them. 
Most of these expeditions back and forth were over this "dark 
and bloody ground." 

1609 

It was during this year that Champlain accompanied a war 
party of Hurons and Algonquins on an expedition against the 
Mohawks. They ascended the St. Lawrence, entered the Richelieu 
River and passed from it into Lake Champlain and then up the lake 
till they met a party of Mohawks near Ticonderoga. What oc- 
curred there you already know. This was the first of many expe- 
ditions that passed and repassed over this route in the long struggle 
between France and England for the possession of this continent. 

1642 

For a third of a century after their defeat by Champlain the 
Iroquois people had been content with fitting out expeditions num- 



THE GREAT WAR-PATH 21 1 

bering from ten to a hundred braves who went through the lakes 
and lay in ambush along the Richelieu and St. Lawrence rivers, 
waiting for small parties which they could easily overcome, but in 
the summer of 1O42 they felt that their time had come, and they 
fitted out a great expedition that overran nearly all Canada, and 
captured or killed great numbers of French, and Canadian Indians. 
It was while on this expedition that they captured Father Jogues. 
You have already had this stor}- given somewhat fully and it is 
mentioned now only to keep the connection of the various move- 
ments over this route. 

1666 

From the time of the great Iroquois incursion of 1642 Canada 
was hardlv ever free from the presence of her insatiable foes. The 
colony could barely maintain itself because of them. Their incur- 
sions must be checked or the colony abandoned. So early in Jan- 
uary, 1666, Courcelle with a force of onl}- five hundred men marched 
over the frozen surface of the lakes into the territory of the Alo- 
hawks. They suft'ered from cold and exposure, lost their Algon- 
quin guides, then lost their way and took the wrong trail. On 
the 20th of February, half frozen and half starved, they found them- 
selves near Schenectady. They came to punish the Mohawks but 
thev were scarcel_\- able to care for themselves, and after a short 
rest set out on their return. Flarassed by the Mohawks, but suf- 
fering more from the cold, they retraced their long and weary way, 
sixty of the party perishing on the way. 

In October of the same year Tracy led an expedition of thirteen 
hundred men directly into the Mohawk country. The Indians 
fled and their castles were burned. This humbled the Iroquois for 
a time but they took a terrible revenge later. 

1689 
Twenty-three years after they were humbled and humiliated by 
Tracy and Courcelle the Iroquois took full and bloody revenge. On 



212 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

the nii^lit of the 5th of August a war party of fifteen hundred Iro- 
quois landed at La Chine and beij;"an the most awful massacre in 
all Canadian history. The houses were burned and all the inhabi- 
tants, men, women, and children, brutally murdered. For two 
months the invaders remained in the vicinity of Montreal, nuu-der- 
ing all whom they found outside of the forts, burning buildings, 
and destroying property. Owing to the orders of Denonville, the 
French governor, no attack was made on the Iroquois, and the 
latter did not attack the forts ; so, for two long months, they were 
free to ravage the country, which they did most thoroughly. Over 
a thousand of the French were killed, while the Iroquois lost only 
three men during the whole of their stay in Canada. 

1690 

In the winter of i^qo Frontenac sent a party of tw^o hundred 
ten men to attack Albau}-. hoping to take the place by surprise. 
As soon as the Indians who made up a part of the force learned 
the destination of the expedition they refused to go farther fearing 
the " great guns " as they called the cannon, so the party, being 
obliged to change its intention, went to Schenectady which they 
reached on the 8th of February. The attack was made in the night. 
11iere was no one on guard. The gates were not closed. .Ml the in- 
habitants were asleep. The war whoop aroused them, and the mas- 
sacre began. Neither women nor children were spared. Schuyler 
in describing this affair wrote, "No pen can write, and no tongue 
can express the cruelties that were committed." For two hours the 
work of murder and destruction went on. Sixty persons w-ere 
killed, and between eighty and ninety taken prisoners. All the 
houses save three or four w'ere burned. 

An expedition consisting of five hundred fifteen men under 
the command of General Winthrop set out on an expedition to 
Canada as a retaliation for the destruction of Schenectady. When 
thev reached Whitehall General Winthrop decided that it would 



THE GREAT WAR-PATH 213 

not be \\ise to go farther as there was much sickness among the 
men, and provisions were scarce, and canoes few in number. Cap- 
tain Johannes Scliuyler, the grandfather of General PhiHp Schuy- 
ler, was opposed to abandoning the expedition, as he feared it would 
have a bad effect on the Mohawks who were already wavering in 
their allegiance to the English, and who might go over to the 
French if they thought the latter were feared by the English. Cap- 
tain Schuyler obtained permission to ask for volunteers to go on to 
Canada with him. About one hundred fifty men joined him. 
Thev surprised La Prairie, to the south of Montreal, killing some of 
the inhabitants, and taking many prisoners, as well as destroying 
much property. The interest in this expedition is due chiefly to 
the fact that it was the first armed force to enter Canada from the 
colonies. 

1691 

Pieter Schuyler, a brother of Johannes, started from Albany on 
an expedition to Canada on the 21st of June, 1691. He had a force 
of about three hundred men, more than half of them Indians. They 
took the same route that Johannes Schuyler and his force had taken 
the vear before. They had twq severe engagements in which they 
killed some of the enemy and took a number of prisoners. The most 
im]M:)rtant result of this expedition was the confidence that it gave 
both the whites and the Iroquois in their ability to cope with the 
I'^rench successfully. 

1693 

Toward the end of January, 1693. Frontenac sent out an expedi- 
tion against the Mohawks. It consisted of six hundred twenty- 
five men, made up of French regulars, Canadians, and Indians. 
They left Chambly, going south on the old war-path. It being in 
winter all the men wore snow shoes. In eighteen days they reached 
the lower Mohawk town. This and the middle town were about a 
mile apart. Both were surrounded at the same time and captured 



214 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

without resistance. One of these towns was burned and all the 
prisoners were confined in the other. The third town, which was 
eight leagues away, was captured after a sharp fight in which 
twenty or thirty Mohawks were killed, and nearly three hundred, 
mostly women and children, taken prisoners. On their retreat 
the French were pursued by Schuyler with a party of settlers and 
some of the Mohawks and Oneidas. There was a severe fight in 
which neither side gained any especial advantage. During the 
following night the French retreated, and Schuyler was obliged to 
wait for supplies as his men were faint with hunger. When the 
provisions came the pursuit was renewed and the hVench overtaken. 
There was no further fighting because the French declared that they 
would kill all their prisoners if they were attacked, so the Indians 
would not fight, as the prisoners were their friends and relatives. 
When the French reached Lake George they found that the warm 
weather had so afi:'ected the ice that it was not safe, so they had to 
make their way along the shore. They had left provisions on the 
shore of Lake Champlain for use on their return, but they found 
them all spoiled. Because of this, their retreat to ^Montreal was ac- 
companied with great suffering. They boiled moccasins for food, 
and scraped away the snow to find hickory and beech nuts. Several 
died from starvation and others became too weak to move. Tlie 
stronger made their way to Montreal and relief parties were sent 
out for those who had been left behind. 

1745 
Li the fall of 1745 the Governor of Canada planned an expedi- 
tion against the New England settlements on the Connecticut. An 
expedition numbering more than five hundred left ^Montreal on the 
4th of November. When the party reached Crown Poitit the 
Indians claimed it was too late to cross the mountains into the Con- 
necticut valley. After some discussion it was determined to aban- 
don their original plan and attack Saratoga. They went up Lake 



THE GREAT WAR-PATH 215 

Champlain to South JJay, and from there across the country to 
Fort Anne. They lost their way but finally reached Fort Edward. 
Here they captured two Indians, three white men and a boy. On 
their way to Saratoga several other prisoners were taken, from 
whom they learned the condition of affairs at the place they were 
to attack. They reached Old Saratoga (now Schuylerville) on 
the night of the 27th of November. They burned thirty dwellings 
with their outbuildings, four mills, a blacksmith shop, and the fort. 
It had been thirty years since the place had known the presence of 
an enemy and no provision for defence had been made. The fort 
was not garrisoned. About thirty people were killed and more 
than a hundred taken prisoners. Of these some were ransomed, 
and some died in prison. Very few of them ever saw Saratoga 
again. 

1755 

This was the year of Sir William Johnson's expedition against 
Crown Point and the counter-movement of Baron Dieskau. You 
have already had the story, and you are now merely reminded of it 
in its order as one of the many movements over this long used 
war-path. 

1756 

During the season of 1756 the Earl of Loudon was in command 
of the British and Colonial forces and occupied Albany, Fort Ed- 
ward and Lake George. Montcalm and the French forces were at 
Ticonderoga. Neither commander thought it wise to advance, 
so the season passed without any activity along the lakes, but the 
French captured the English forts at Oswego. 

1757 

On the first of August, 1757, Montcalm left a small force at 
Ticonderoga, and with a force of more than seven thousand men, 



2l6 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



about sixteen hundred of whom were IncHans, moved toward Fort 
William Henry. About one-third of the force went overland, the 
remainder in a (^reat fleet made up of two hundred and fifty bat- 
teaux, and a multitude of birch bark canoes filled with Indians in 
their pictures(|ue war-dress. The detachment that went by land 
halted near the present village of Bolton till the boats came up, when 
the whole force moved on together and reached the vicinity of Fort 
William Henry on the 2d of August. Montcalm stationed a part 
of his force where the village of Caldwell is now, and mounted 



^ M 




Sj^^^r 











From a photograph copyright, 1902, by S, R. Stodtlanl 

LAKE GEORGE FROM FORT WILLIAM HENRY 



his heaviest cannon there. The fort was defended by Colonel Mon- 
roe, a brave Scotch officer, with a force of twenty-two hundred 
men. General Webb was at Fort Edward with sixteen hundred 
men, while there were a thousand more at the different forts be- 
tween Fort Edward and Albany. Webb was soon reenforced l)y 
two thousand militia, so that all told there was a force available 
to meet Montcalm fully e(|ual to his own, but the cowardly Webb 
made no effort to relieve ^Monroe who repcatedl\' asked for reen- 
forcements. Webb, whose personal courage had been questioned 
before, would neither make any effort to relieve Alonroe nor allow 
others to do so. When Sir William Johnson reenforced Webb 



THE GREAT WAR-PATH 217 

with nearly two thousand mihtia. and five or six hundred Indians, 
he begged to be allowed to take a thousand more men and march at 
once to the relief of Monroe. Webb gave a reluctant consent, but 
when Johnson had gone four miles, Webb peremptorily ordered him 
to return, saying he feared he would meet the fate of Braddock if 
he went to Monroe's relief. 

This is Johnson's opinion of Webb: "Webb's malady is consti- 
tutional. If he had let me go I believe I would have compelled 
the French to raise the siege. If he had supported me with his 
whole force I believe we could have beaten Montcalm. We had 
nearly seven thousand efiFective troops and Monroe had about six- 
teen hundred more in his garrison and fortified camp. Montcalm 
had no more than six thousand effective. But Webb, instead of 
marching to the relief of Monroe, sent him a letter advising him to 
surrender on the best terms he could get. You know the rest. I 
hate to say it, but the truth must be told. Webb enjoys a solitary 
and unique distinction. He is the only British general — in fact, 
I may say the only British officer of any rank — I ever knew or 
heard of who was personally a coward. That Webb was and is such, 
no one who served with or under him could fail to perceive. He 
was nearly beside himself with physical fear after the fall of Fort 
William Flenry. His army was in good spirits and anxious to fight. 
The general alone was panic stricken ! The fate of Braddock, who 
was an old comrade of his in the Guards, almost upset his mind. At 
his headquarters in Fort Edward, when I was present, the subject 
of Braddock's expedition came up, and Webb spoke w'ith almost 
puerile fear of the horrors of falling into the hands of the Indians." 

After Montcalm had made all his preparations for an attack 
he sent the following communication to Monroe: "I owe it to 
humanity to summon you to surrender. At present I can restrain 
the savages and make them observe the terms of a capitulation, as 
I might not have the power to do under other circumstances; and 
an obstinate defence on your ])art could only retard the capture of 



2l8 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

the place for a few days, and endanger an unfortunate garrison 
which cannot be reheved, in consequence of the dispositions I have 
made. I demand a decisive answer witliin an hour." 

Monroe, of course, refused to surrender, but he waged a most 
unequal conflict. He was greatly outnumbered. His artillery was 
in every respect greatl}- inferior to that of Montcalm. Added to 
all this was the presence of smallpox in Monroe's army. After 
a siege of eight days, when it was apparent that they could not 
resist the assault that was certain to be made soon, Monroe called 
a council of his officers and it was decided to surrender if honorable 
terms could be had. 

It was agreed that the English troops should march out with 
the honors of war and be escorted to Fort Edward by a detachment 
of French troops, and that the English should not serve again for 
eighteen months, and that all the French who had been captured in 
America since the war began should be given up within three 
months. Montcalm called a council of the Indian chiefs before 
signing the articles of capitulation and asked them to assent to its 
provisions and to restrain their warriors from any disorder. To 
this they all agreed. 

No sooner had the surrender taken place than began one of the 
most horrible massacres known to the history of our country. The 
savages murdered at once all who were confined to their beds by 
sickness. Punishment is sometimes meted out in unexpected ways. 
Some of the sick had the smallpox and the Indians contracted the 
disease which devastated the tribes that fall and winter. 

It will never be known how many were killed during this mas- 
sacre. Accounts dififer greatly. Probably not far from a hundred 
were killed ; the sick, women, and children, being among the num- 
ber. About six hundred of those who had surrendered and had 
been promised safe conduct to Fort Edward were seized by the 
Indians. Nearly half of these were afterward released, but the 
others were taken to Canada, where some of them were tortured. 



THE GREAT WAR-PATH 



219 



No doubt Alontcalm and his officers did all they could in the 
way of persuasion, entreaty, and command, to stop the massacre, but 
there is no evidence that any attempt was made to use force, which 
could have been done effectually, thoug-h no doubt such a course 
would have cost the French the friendship and support of the 
savages, and Montcalm seems to have thought the massacre a lesser 
evil than such a loss. It is quite certain that he was strong enough 
to have compelled the Indians to observe the articles of capitula- 
tion, as they agreed in advance to do. Montcalm had not the ex- 
cuse of not being prepared for the emergency because he was 
ignorant of the forces he had to deal with. This is clear, because 
in his own defence he said, "You know what it is to restrain 
three thousand Indians of thirty-three nations." This massacre 
will forever stain the otherwise fair fame of Montcalm. It is quite 
possible that it so aroused the people of the colonies as to con- 
tribute not a little to the final defeat of the French on this conti- 
nent. A writer has said, " The massacre of the English at Lake 
George marked the culminating point of the French upon this 
continent." 

TICONDEROGA 

Joseph Cook says, "Around the walls of Ticonderoga, along the 
shores of Champlain and Horicon (Lake George) were the school 
grounds of the Revolution." It is true that in the struggles with the 
French on that territory the colonists were trained to fight and 
began to act in concert. 

Around the name of Fort Ticonderoga are clustered many mem- 
ories ; memories of great events and great men ; memories of 
Indians and of whites; of the French, the colonist, and the English; 
of Champlain, Montcalm, Abercrombie, Lord Howe, Amherst. St. 
Clair, and Ikirgoync ; of historical events of great importance and 
far reaching consequences. 



220 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

It was here that Champlain defeated the Mohawks in 1609 

Here that Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga) was erected by the French in. .. 1756 
Here that Abercrombie was disastrously defeated by Montcalm in .... 1758 

The place was captured by Amherst in 1759 

The American army near Boston was supplied with stores and ammuni- 
tion taken from Fort Ticonderoga at the time of its capture by 

Ethan Allen in 1775 

Fort Ticonderoga was evacuated by St. Clair in i777 

1758 

Great Britain resolved to make another attempt to capture 
Ticonderosra. Six thousand res^ulars and nine thousand colonists 




THE NARROWS, LAKE GEORGE 



were employed in the attem])t. They ijrathcred at Lake George 
and on the morning of the 5th of July the whole army of fifteen 
thousand men embarked. Iksides the heavy flat-boats used for 
carrying the artillery and other heavy supplies, there were nine 
hundred batteaux, and one hundred thirty-five whaleboats. Imag- 
ine that great fleet of boats with the showy uniforms of the soldiers 
passing through the narrow ixirt of the lake with its muner- 
ous islands. Let Parkman tell the story : " Before ten o'clock they 



THE GREAT WAR-PATH 221 

began to enter the narrows ; and the boats of the three divisions 
extended themselves into long files as the mountains closed on either 
hand upon the contracted lake. From front to rear the line was 
six miles long. The spectacle was superb; the brightness of the 
summer day ; the romantic beauty of the scenery ; the sheen and 
sparkle of those crystal waters ; the countless islets, tufted with 
pine, birch, and fir ; the bordering mountains, with their green sum- 
mits and sunny crags ; the flash of oars and glitter of weapons ; the 
banners, the varied uniforms, and the notes of bugle, trumpet, bag- 
pipe, and drum, answered and prolonged by a hundred woodland 
echoes." 

Let Joseph Cook paint the same picture. 

"See a thousand flashing barges. 
And the blue-coats and the red-coats, 
And the tartans from Loch Loinond, 
And the sunlight on the forests, 
And the mirrored oaks and maples. 
Breathing beeches, silver birches. 
Giant pines on mighty summits. 
Iris sheen and iris sparkles, 
And the sword glare in the waters." 

Abercrombie was in command of the combined Hritish and Pro- 
vincial forces. With him was Lord Howe upon whose judgment 
the English ministry relied chiefly for success. While Abercrom- 
bie was going down tlie lake with fifteen thousand men, Montcalm 
was awaiting him at Ticonderoga with less than four thousand. 
The details of the battle which followed cannot well be given here. 
Lord Howe was killed early in a slight engagement which took place 
near Trout Brook. Never was the success of an army apparently 
more bound up in the life of one man. All went wrong after his 
death. Instead of occupying Mount Defiance which overlooked and 
commanded Montcalm's position, or besieging the place, it was 
decided to attempt to carry it by assault. Again and again did the 



222 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



British charge the works, which were protected by a perfect en- 
tanglement of fallen trees. At the close of the day Abercrombie 
withdrew with the loss of about two thousand men. The French 
loss was three hundred seventy-seven. The defeat of an army 
of fifteen thousand men by a force of less than four thousand was 
most humiliating. 

1759 
Followmg the unfortunate and humiliating campaigns of Lou- 
don and Abercrombie was a third that was successful to a good 




From a photograph copyright, 1902, by S. R. Stoddard 

RUINS OF FORT TICONDEROGA 



degree, though owing to the slowness which seemed to be char- 
acteristic of the English generals, far less was accomplished than 
the British expected and the French feared. Amherst who com- 
manded the British and Provincial forces reached Lake George 
about the first of June. Here where Johnson won his victory over 
Dieskau ; here where the poltroon Webb allowed Monroe to be 
defeated ; here where the savages whom Montcalm had called into 
his service massacred men, women, and children ; sick and well ; 
here where Abercrombie gathered his great force, set out with such 
brilliant prospects, and marched to humiliating defeat ; from here 
Amherst with a force smaller than Abercrombie's was to march 



THE GREAT WAR-PATH 



223 



against tlie same foe wliich had defeated and driven Abercrombie's 
army back to Fort William Henry. Though Amherst had onlv 
eleven thousand men, and Abercrombie had had fifteen thousand, 
Amherst was a soldier and a disciplinarian. He was careful and 
prudent. He protected his rear with a line of fortified posts all 
the way from Fort Edward to Lake George, the most important 
being Fort Amherst at Half Way Brook. He began at Lake George 
a fort known as Fort George, the ruins of which are still visible. 
On the 2ist of Julv the armv embarked with much the same 




RUINS OF THE FORT AT GROWN' POINT 



show as Abercrombie made the year before. On arriving at the 
foot of the lake, Amherst began a regular investment of Ticon- 
deroga. The French commander withdrew his army, leaving a 
small force to retard the advance of Amherst as long as possible. 
On the 26th the remainder of the French withdrew after having 
fired the magazine which blew up and destroyed one bastion of the 
fort, and burned such parts as were combustible. Amherst repaired 
the fort and made ready for an advance on Crown Point. On the 
1st of August Amherst's scouts reported that the French had aban- 
doned that place. The British took possesssion of the works and 
began to build a new fort there. 



224 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

• This was practically all that Amherst accomplished though he 
had been instructed to push on as rapidly as possible in order to 
create a diversion in the interest of Wolfe who was before Quebec. 
You have now had given the principal military events that have 
taken place along " The Great War-Path," with the exception of 
Burgoyne's expedition which has been treated earlier in this book, 
and the operations during the war of 1812 which is a matter of more 
recent occurrence than this volume deals with. 



THE NIAGARA FRONTIER 

Perhaps only Quebec and Manhattan Island played more im- 
portant parts in our early history than did the country about Niagara. 
It was the one point absolutely necessary to the French in order 
that they might maintain communication with their western posts 
and keep the way open to the Mississippi valley. If once they 
lost control at Niagara everything to the west must soon fall 
without further effort on the part of their enemies. In the early 
days the French were much more alive to this fact than were the 
English, possibly because the French had important interests in the 
west, while the English had none. 

The name of La Salle will always be associated with the early 
liistory of Niagara because he was one of the first white men to 
visit the place, and because he was the very first to recognize its 
importance, both for the prosecution of the fur trade in times of 
peace, and as of great strategical value in case war should take place 
between the French and the English. 

The earliest occupants of the Niagara territory of whom we 
have any knowledge were the Neuter Nation. They were a very 
numerous people having no fewer than thirty-six villages west of 
Niagara River, and four to the east of it. Their territory probably 
extended as far east as Lockport. In 1651 the Neuter Nation was 
nearly exterminated by the Senecas. From this time on the Senecas 
claimed the territory that the Neuter Nation had occupied, and the 
other Indian tribes recognized their title to it, though the Senecas 
did not really occupy it for more than a hundred years. In 1679 
they granted La Salle certain rights on the Niagara River, and in 
1719 they gave Joncaire, a Frenchman whom they had adopted, cer- 



226 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



tain privileges there. In 1725 they permitted the French to build 
a stone fort at the month of the river. 

At an earlv dav there was a conflict between the claims of France 




THE FALLS AT NIAGARA 



and Eng-land rep^ardins:: this territory. France claimed it because of 
the discoveries of Champlain. La Salle, and the Jesuit missionaries; 
while Encrland claimed the whole continent because of its discovery 



THE NIAGARA FRONTIER 227 

by her early navigators. The claims of both parties lacked sub- 
stantial foundation, but Parkman regards that of the French as 
being the more reasonable. 

Mr. Peter A. Porter, author of " A Brief History of Old Fort 
Niagara," and many other works relating to the history of the 
Niagara Frontier, gives the following statement of the varying 
ownership of the Niagara territory. It is w^orth while to keep it 
clearly in mind. 

The Neuter Nation to 1 65 1 

Indian ownership from 165 1 to 1669 

Indian ownership, French influence predominating from 1669 to 1725 

Indian ownership, French occupation from 1725 to 1759 

Indian ownership, EngHsh occupation from 1759 to 1783 

American ownership, Enghsh occupation from 1783 to 1796 

It is possible that Brule, who acted as interpreter for Champlain, 
visited the Niagara region in 1615, though the probabilities are that 
the first wdiite man in that section was Joseph de la Roche Dallion, 
a Catholic priest who was there in 1626. So far as is known the 
next white visitors were Fathers Brebeuf and Chaumont. who went 
there in November, 1640, in the religious interests of the Neuter 
Indians. They remained till the middle of the following February 
when they abandoned the field, apparently having made no impres- 
sion upon the Indians. 

The Niagara region does not seem to have been visited by an}- 
white men for a quarter of a century after Fathers Brebeuf and 
Chaumont left it. This may be- due to the fact that the Senecas 
came into the possession of the country about this time and that the 
Iroquois had so spread the terror of their name far and wide, even 
before the coming of the white men, that no one entered their terri- 
tory unless they had very strong reasons for doing so. It was no 
doubt largely due to this fact that no white men visited Niagara, 
save for a brief period, till 1678. 

La Salle, in company with two Sulpician missionaries, visited 



228 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

the Niagara territory in 1669. They visited some of the Seneca 
towns and crossed the Niagara River on their way to the west. 

La Salle and Father Hennepin were at Niagara in 1678. Father 
Hennepin and La Motte, the latter being under the direction of 
La Salle, left Fort Frontenac in a little vessel of only ten tons 
and arrived at the mouth of the Niagara River on the 8th of Decem- 
ber, 1678. They and their small force of eighteen men landed on 
the east bank of the river where Fort Niagara was afterward built. 
Father Hennepin went up the river in a canoe as far as the present 
town of Lewiston where later he erected a bark chapel and held 
services. La Motte and his men built a cabin here and fortified 
it with palisades. Beyond any doubt this was the first attempt 
made at Niagara to provide a means of defence against the Indians. 
This was in December, 1678. A month later La Salle built two 
blockhouses at the mouth of the river, giving the place the name 
of Fort Conti. These blockhouses were both destroyed by fire a 
few months later. 

La Motte and Father Hennepin visited the Senecas at one of 
their villages situated to the south-east of the present city of Roches- 
ter, and not far from the town of Victor. The purpose of the visit 
was to obtain from the Senecas permission to build a vessel on Lake 
Erie, and a fort at the mouth of the Niagara River. The Senecas 
made evasive replies to their requests, and Hennepin and La Motte 
returned to Niagara, their severe and toilsome journey having been 
a failure. La Salle, who was to follow Hennepin and La Motte 
to Niagara, appeared in the Seneca village just after his associates 
had left it. and obtained the privilege that had been refused them. 

While La Salle had little to do with making the history of the 
Niagara Frontier his name has been largely associated with the 
locality. He visited it no fewer than five times. 

When La Salle left the Seneca village he went to Niagara and 
passed up the river looking for a suitable site for building a vessel. 
There is little doubt that the place he selected was the mouth of 



THE NIAGARA FRONTIER 



229 



Cayuga Creek. Here he built the Griffin, a schooner of forty-five 
tons, mounting five small cannon. It was the first vessel to navigate 
the waters of Lake Erie. In it La Salle made his famous voyage 
westward, crossing Lakes Erie and Hpron, and going as far west 
as Green Bay on Lake Michigan. From here he went to a point 
at or near the present city of Chicago, where he loaded his little 
vessel with furs and sent it on its return trip. The vessel foun- 
dered on Lake Michigan somewhere between Washington Island 
and Mackinaw. 

Father Hennepin was probably the first white man to see Niag- 
ara Falls ; he was certainly the first to make a sketch of them. 
When he sailed westward with La Salle Father Watteaux remained 
at Niagara as chaplain, being the first Catholic priest appointed to 
minister to white people within the territory now forming the state 
of New York. 

In 1687 ^larquis de Denonville entered the Seneca country with 
a strong force, and burned many of the Indian towns. He built 
a fort at Niagara w^hich was at first called Fort Denonville, but 
later Fort Niagara. When he returned to Canada he left a force 
of a hundred men at the fort under the command of Sieur de 
Troyes. Father Lamberville was appointed chaplain. Denonville 
had promised to send on a supply of provisions at once, and a 
relieving force the following spring. The food sent to the garrison 
was unfit for use and the men were unable to supplement it by hunt- 
ing or fishing as the Senecas, eight hundred in number, invested 
the fort soon after Denonville left. The garrison sufifered so 
severely from scurvy and other diseases that only twelve were 
alive when spring came, and they would have been dead with the 
others had not a party of friendly Miamis come to their relief weeks 
before it was possible for the French at Montreal to reach them. 
Among the few who survived the winter was Father Lamberville 
who was taken to Catarouquoi, later known as Fort Frontenac, 
which was located on the site of the present city of Kingston. 



230 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



Denonville sent out a new garrison for Niagara with Father 
Milet as chaplain, but on the 15th of September, 1688, the garrison 
was recalled and the fort abandoned. In those early days Niagara 
was another name for hardship and sufifering. 

Niagara was the key to the fur trade of the Ohio valley and the 
ffreat lakes. If France held Niagara the furs went to Quebec, if the 

PLAN OF FORT NIAGARA 




OLD FORT NIAGARA 



British held it the furs went to Albany or New York ; so it was a 
struggle for trade quite as much as for territory. Niagara was 
an important link in a chain of French forts, the most important 
being at Quebec, Montreal, Kingston, Niagara, Detroit, and Alichili- 
mackinac. 

In 1720 Joncaire, who was intimate with the Senecas and pos- 
sessed nuich inllucnce over them, built a blockhouse at Lewiston, 
having obtained their permission to do so. 

The first ]:)ermanent fort at Niagara was built in 1736 and was 
known as the "Castle" or "Mess House." This was added to and 



THE NIAGARA FRONTIER 



231 



strengthened from time to time and became the most important 
place in America south of ^Montreal and west of Albany. At one 
time the fortifications at Niagara covered nearly eight acres. 



PRIDEAUX'S EXPEDITION 

The story of this expedition was briefly told in the sketch of the 
life of Sir William Johnson, and though it will be in part a repeti- 
tion, it needs to be given here as a part of the history of the 
Niagara frontier. Toward the end of June. 1759, about four 
thousand men had assembled at Oswego. They were under the 
command of General Prideaux and were destined for a movement 
against Fort Niagara. About one-quarter of the force was made 
up of Indians under the command of Sir \\'illiam Johnson who 
was second in command of the expedition. The army reached 
Niagara on the 6th of July and completely invested the fort the fol- 
lowing day. On the 19th Prideaux was killed by the premature 
bursting of a shell from a small mortar. Johnson succeeded to 
the command. 

The fort at Niagara was a strong one, well supplied with pro- 
visions and ammunition and defended by six hundred men. John- 
son, with a force at least five times as great, pushed the siege with 
great vigor. 

When Prideaux was arranging for his movement against Niag- 
ara. Colonel d'Aubrey and other French partisan chiefs were gath- 
ering a force made up chiefly of bushrangers and Indians, for the 
purpose of retaking Fort Pitt. When Pouchot, the French officer 
in command at Fort Niagara, learned that the English were com- 
ing to attack him, he summoned d'Aubrey to his assistance. The 
French partisan leaders had about thirteen hundred men, two hun- 
dred of the number being Indians. They reached the vicinity of 
Fort Niagara on the 24th of July, five days after the death of Pri- 
deaux. To meet this movement Johnson was compelled to divide 



232 EARLY NEW YORK HISTO^IY 

his force into three bodies, one to guard his boats, another to man 
his trenches, and the third to meet d'Aubrey. 

The contest with . d'Aubrey was short but severe. The fight 
lasted only about half an hour. The French were disastrously 
beaten, one hundred forty-six being killed, a large number wounded, 
and more than one hundred taken prisoners, among the number 
being d'Aubrey himself. This action ended all hope of a successful 
defence of the fort and the following day Pouchot surrendered. 

This was not long after the massacre at Fort William Henry, 
and the garrison was terrified fearing there would be a repetition 
of the scenes that took place at Lake George, but nothing of the 
kind occurred. Johnson permitted the Indians to pillage the fort, 
but not a person was injured. The immediate result of this cam- 
paign was the complete control of the Niagara frontier by the 
English, but the capture of Fort Niagara meant much more than 
that. It practically settled the control of the whole country. The 
English were to be supreme. 

But all was not to be peace at once. The Seneca Indians had 
been the allies of the French and they were sullen and revengeful. 
Four years later Pontiac organized his conspiracy and the Senecas 
began a campaign against the English. 

DEVIL'S HOLE MASSACRE 

In 1761 the English built Fort Schlosser, a mile above the falls. 
Then they monopolized the portage business at the falls, which 
before had been wholly in the hands of the Senecas. The Indians 
were so ugly over this matter that the English had to maintain a 
garrison at each end of the portage and furnish guards of soldiers 
for all valuable trains of goods. 

A new portage road was opened from Lewiston to Fort 
Schlosser. On the 14th of September, T763. a train of twenty- 
five wagons, guarded b\' troops from Fort Niagara, set out for Fort 



THE NIAGARA FRONTIER 



233 



Schlosser. They were ambushed at Devil's Hole by a party of five 
huiulred Senecas, who killed all but three of the part}-. The gar- 
rison at Lewiston heard the firing and two companies of troops 
hastened to the relief of their comrades. They, too, were ambushed 
at the same place and only eight of their number escaped. Some 
of these survivors carried the iiews to Fort Niagara, and the com- 
mander with nearly his whole force immediately set out for the 
scene of the massacre but the .Senecas had fied. 

This outrage on the part of the Senecas grew out of their sup- 
posed grievances over their loss of control at Niagara, but they 
would not have dared to attack the English but for the encourage- 
ment aft'orded by the conspiracy of Pontiac, and when the move- 
ment of the latter failed the Senecas were stricken with terror. 
They sent a delegation to see Johnson at Johnson Hall and beg for 
peace, which they obtained b\' deeding a large amount of territory 
to the English. 

Sir William Johnson held a great council at Niagara in 1764. 
He met there more than two thousand Indians representing the 
tribes from Nova Scotia to the headwaters of the Mississippi. No 
such representative body of Indians had ever luet in council with 
the whites. A treaty was made with each tribe separately. The 
.Senecas ceded the English a strip of land two miles wide on each 
side of the Niagara River, and extending from Lake Ontario to 
Lake Erie. They reserved from this grant all the islands in the 
river. These they presented to Sir William jiersonally, but he, 
of course, presented them to the English crown. The council 
lasted from the 3d of July till the 6th of August. It was more 
productive of good results than any other council ever held with 
the Indians. During the meeting of this coimcil Great Britain 
expended $190,000 for presents for the Indians, and about $10,000 
more to feed them during their stay. 

During the Revolution Niagara was not only an im])ortant 
trading post, but it was the principal rendezvous of the Six Nations. 



234 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

It was the point from which numerous parties of savages were 
fitted out to harry the New York frontier, especially in the Mohawk 
and Schoharie valleys. Not only were the Indians permitted to 
use Niagara as a base for their horrible warfare, but they were 
given the utmost aid and encouragement as is shown by numerous 
letters and reports of Sir Guy Johnfeon. Had there been no Fort 
Niagara there would have been no massacre at Wyoming or Cherry 
valley. It was at Niagara that the Johnsons, the Butlers, Alon- 
tour, and Brant, met to organize parties of savages for incursions 
into the white settlements. 

Niagara was one of the points that the llritish refused to give 
up at the close of the Revolution, maintaining possession of it on 
one pretence and another till the 15th of August, 1796. 

There were many matters of great interest that occurred on the 
Niagara frontier during the War of 1812, but this work does 
not deal with events of so recent occurrence in the history of our 
state. 



WEST POINT AND THE LOWER HUDSON 

Securing the control of the Hudson River was a favorite 
project with the British as its possession would enable them to 
cut the colonies in twain and subdue each section in turn. Not 
only would the control of the Hudson enable them to open a road 
to iMontreal and so cut off the New England colonies, but once in 
possession of Albany they would easily overrun the Mohawk valley, 
give encouragement to the many Tories there, and be in close 
touch with their Indian allies, the Iroquois. 

The Americans were as anxious to prevent the control of the 
Hudson by the British, as the latter were to secure it. After ex- 
tended investigation it was decided that West Point oft'ered the 
best location for defensive works. The river was very narrow 
there, not much over fourteen hundred feet wide ; the banks were 
high ; mountains overlooking the river on all sides ; and at this 
point the river bent almost at right angles so that cannon would 
control for a long distance, and obstructions to navigation could 
easily be placed and maintained. Beside all these advantages there 
was a high, rock}' island in the river just above West Point 
that could be fortified readily. The i)lan of \\'est Point given on 
])age 236 makes the situation clear. 

The occupation of West Point by the Americans was a constant 
menace to New York, therefore the Ilritish had a double reason for 
desiring possession of the Hudson. The struggle for West Point 
enabled Arnold to carry into effect the treasonable purposes he had 
for some time entertained. There is in all American history no 
sadder incident than that of Arnold's treachery. A strong, brave 

23s 



236 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



man, who had made a fine record as a soldier, by a single act 
destroyed for all time all the esteem in which he had been held. 
While the treason of Arnold can never be forgotten nor condoned, 







^4^— — -.w^'^^"^ 







I'LAN 



Vll.l.Kni.VMIIKi 



PLAN OF WEST POINT 



one cannot forget the part he took at Quebec, and at Saratoga, nor 
can one overlook the fact that he was not always treated fairly. 

Benedict Arnold was a descendant, and namesake, of one of the 
early governors of Rhode Island. Yovmg Arnold began business as 
an apothecary, and later added to his enterprise the selling of books 
and stationery. At the outbreak of the Revolution he marched to 
Cambridge in the command of a company. He was with Allen at 



WEST POINT AND THE LOWER HUDSON 237 

Ticoncleroga, and wherever he was he was in the thickest of the fight. 
By many he was regarded as the hero of Saratoga. 

Arnold was not advanced as rapidly as he felt he should be, and 
on several occasions he was deeply humiliated, but had there not been 
a lack in his character, somewhere, we should not now have to tell the 
story of his treason. While Arnold was at Philadelphia he married 
Margaret Shippen, a daughter of one of the Tory residents of the 
citv. Arnold, who was always fond of display, lived far beyond his 
means at this time. He kept a coach, servants in livery, gave splendid 
banquets, and in such ways incurred debts that he could not meet. 
He was accused of raising money in improper ways, and on being 
tried was acquitted on two charges, but found to be guilty in some 
measure on others. A part of the court before whom he was tried 
voted to cashier him, but the majority decided that he should be 
reprimanded by his Commander-in-Chief. Washington performed 
this duty with all possible delicacy, for he had always been a friend 
of Arnold's, and he did not believe there had been any wrong intent. 

This was the condition of affairs that existed when Arnold sought 
the command at West Point, which Washington gladly gave him. 
Even at this time Arnold had been in treasonable correspondence 
with the British. The picture is the blacker because Arnold sought 
this position that he might betray not only his country, against which 
lie thought he had grievances, but his commander as well, who had 
always been his friend, and who had done all that he could to shield 
him from criticism, and to promote his interests. 

\\'hile at \\'est Point Arnt)l{l occupied as his headquarters the 
Beverley Robinson House, which was situated on the east bank of 
the Hudson, nearly opposite West Point, and at the foot of Sugar 
Loaf Mountain. The house was built about 1750 by Colonel Beverley 
Robinson, son of John Robinson, President of the colony of Virginia. 
The grounds contained about a thousand acres. The estate came to 
Robinson through his wife, a daughter of Frederick Philipse. Dur- 
ing the Revolution Robinson sided with the British and raised a 



238 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



regiment of loyalists for the i>ritish service. At the close of the war 
his estate was confiscated. The house was destroyed by fire in 1892. 
being at that time the property of Hamilton Fish. Washington was 
at this house frequently, and Putnam and other American officers 
made their headquarters there. It was at this house that Washington 




THE BEVERLEY ROBINSON HOLai 



had the sad interview with the almost distracted Mrs. Arnold after 
the discovery of the treason of her husband. It was to this house 
that Roger Morris and his wife came when they were obliged to flee 
from New York when that city was occupied by the American 
troops. It was at this house that Hamilton and Lafayette were at 
dinner when they received the despatch announcing the capture of 
Major Andre. 

ANDR^ 

A correspondence had been carried on between Andre and 
Arnold for some time, Andre writing over the signature John 



WEST POINT AND THE LOWER HUDSON 239 

Anderson, while Arnold signed himself "Gustavus." It became 
necessary to have a meeting between Arnold and some one who could 
speak for Sir Henry Clinton with authority. Major Andre was 
chosen to act in that capacity. It was at first planned to have the 
meeting take place at Dobb's Ferry, and Arnold went down the 
river in his barge for that purpose, but owing to some misunder- 
standing his boat was fired upon and he was compelled to withdraw. 
He returned to West Point, and Andre, who was at Dobb's Ferry, 
went back to New York. 

The first effort to bring about a meeting had resulted in failure. 
There was further correspondence, after which Andre went up the 
river as far as Teller's Point, where, on board the Vulture, he waited 
until a meeting with Arnold could be arranged. Arnold was aided 
in this matter by Joshua Hett Smith, who lived on the west side of 
the river, about two and a half miles below Stony Point. His house 
has long been known as the "Treason House," because Arnold and 
Andre met there and arranged their plans for the surrender of West 
Point. To what extent Smith was in the confidence of Arnold will 
probably never be known. Whether Smith was a Tory, or whether 
he was deceived by Arnold, will always be a matter of some doubt. 

On Thursday, the 21st of September, 1780, at about midnight, 
Smith, with two of his tenants acting as boatmen, rowed out to the 
Vulture. Andre was brought ashore and met Arnold about two 
miles below Haverstraw, at the foot of Long Clove Mountain. The 
two men talked together till morning, when, not having completed 
their plans, they went to Smith's house, Andre going very reluc- 
tantly. As they reached the house they heard the sound of cannon- 
ading. Colonel Livingston, who was in command at Verplanck's 
Point, had opened fire on the Vulture, which he compelled to drop 
down the river. Arnold and Andre remained in consultation nearly 
all day. At the close of their conference Arnold returned to the 
Robinson House in his barge, having given passports to Andre 
which would enable him to pass the American lines at that point. 



240 



EARLY NEW YORK HLSTORY 



Arnold's movements caused no suspicion as he had accounted for 
them in advance in a very plausible way. 

The Vulture, after having been driven down the river, returned 
and waited for Andre, but Smith for some reason would not row him 
out to the vessel. Being compelled to attempt his return by land 
Andre, with Smith for a guide, set out on horseback a little before 



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TREASON HOUSE 



sunset. Andre changed his military suit for citizen's clothes which 
Smith furnished. They w-ent up the river as far as King's Ferry, 
where they crossed over to Verplanck's Point. From this point they 
went to Cromj)ound, where they were stopped by a sentinel, who 
insisted upon seeing their pass. They remained over night with one 
Andreas Miller, and set out early in the morning, taking the road to 
Pine's Bridge. When within two miles of this place they stopped 
and took breakfast with a Mrs. Sarah Underbill. Here Smith left 
and hastened back to the Robinson House to report Andre's move- 
ments to Arnold. 



WEST POINT AND THE LOWER HUDSON 



241 



It had been planned to have Andre go from Phie's Bridge to 
White Plains, but he heard such reports as to the safety of the route 
that he changed and took the road to Tarrytown instead. When near 
the latter place he was halted by three men, John Paulding, David 
Williams and Isaac \"an Wart. The following quotations from the 
testimony which these men gave later is of interest. Paulding said : 
"Myself, Isaac Van Wart 
and David Williams were 
lying by the side of the road 
about half a mile above Tar- 
rytown, and about fifteen 
miles above Kingsbridge, on 
Saturday morning, between 
nine and ten o'clock, the 
23d of September. W^e had 
lain there about an hour 
and a half, as near as I can 
recollect, and saw several 
persons we were acquainted 
with whom we let pass. 
Presently, one of the young 
men who were with me 
said, 'There comes a gentle- 
man-like looking man, who 
appears to be well dressed, 
and he has boots on, and 
you better step out and stop 
him, if you do not know him.' On that I got up and told him to 
stand, and then asked which way he was going. Then he said, ' I 
am a r>ritish officer, out in the country on particular business, and 
I hope you will not detain me a minute,' and to show that he was a 
British officer he pulled out his watch. ITpon which I told him to 
dismount. He then said, 'My God ! I must do anything to get along,' 




MOVEMENTS OF ARNOLD AND ANDRE 



242 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



and seemed to make a kind of a laugh of it. and pulled out General 
Arnold's pass, which was to John Anderson to pass all guards to 
White Plains and helow. Upon that he dismounted. Said he, 'Gen- 
tlemen, vou had best let me go, or you will bring yourselves into 
trouble, for vour stopping me will detain the general's business;'" 
and he said he was going to Dobb's Ferry to meet a person there 
and get intelligence for General Arnold. Upon that I told him I 
hoped he would not be ofifended ; that we did not mean to take any- 
thing from him : and I told him there were many bad people on the 
road, and I did not know but perhaps he might be one." 

Williams gave the following testimony : "We took him into the 
bushes and ordered him to pull off his clothes, which he did ; but, 
on searching him narrowly, we could not find any sort of writings. 
We told him to pull oft' his boots, which he seemed to be indifferent 
about ; but we got one boot oft', and searched in that boot and could 
find nothing. But we found that there were some papers in the 
bottom of his stocking next to his foot ; on wdiich we made him pull 
his stocking oft, and found three papers wrapped up. Mr. Paulding 
looked at the contents and said he was a spy. We then made him 
pull oft' his other boot, where we found three more papers at the 
bottom of his foot within his stocking. Upon this we made him 
dress himself, and I asked him what he would give us to let him go. 
He said he would give us any sum of money. I asked him whether 
he would give his horse, saddle, bridle, watch, and one hundred 
guineas. He said 'Yes,' and told us he would direct them to any 
place, even if it were that very spot, so that we could get them. I 
asked him whether he would nt)t give us more. He said he would 
give us any c|uantity of dry goods, or any sum of money, and bring 
it to any place we might pitch upon, so that we might get it. Mr. 
Paulding answered, 'No, if you would give us ten thousand guineas 
you should not stir one step.' I then asked the person wdio had 
called himself John Anderson if he would not get away if it lay in 
his power. He answered, 'Yes, T would.' I told him I did not intend 



WEST POINT AND THE LOWER HUDSON 



243 



he should. While taking him along we -asked him a few questions 
and we stopped under the shade. He begged us not to ask him ques- 
tions and said when he came to any commander he would reveal all." 

The papers found on Andre showed the number and the distribu- 
tion of the troops at West Point, the positions they would occupy in 
case of an attack, the location of the different forts and batteries, 
with the men and guns for the defence of each, and all such other 
information as an enemy would desire to have. xA.rnold agreed that 
in case an attack was made on West Point he would scatter the 
forces and so arrange in other ways that no effective defence could 
be made. 

Andre was taken to North Castle, the nearest military post, and 
turned over to the commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Jameson, who, 
unaccountable as it may seem, after reading the papers found on 
Andre, decided to send him to x-Vrnold in charge of Lieutenant Allen. 
He did so, writing a letter to Arnold, saying that he had sent the cap- 
tured papers to \\'ashington. Soon after Andre left Alajor Tall- 
madge, the second in command at North Castle, learned what had 
been done. He declared that he was suspicious of Arnold and 
urged that Andre be brought back. To this Jameson gave a reluc- 
tant consent. The next day Major Tallmadge took Andre to Lower 
Salem and left him in charge of Lieutenant King. From here 
Andre was sent to the Robinson House, then to West Point, and 
from there to Tappan, where he was confined till his trial. 

General Washington had been at West Point only a short time 
before the meeting of Arnold with Andre. He had gone on to 
Hartford and was to stop at West Point on his return from that 
place. ITe was back at West Point on the 24th of September, the 
day that the British had been expected to make their attack, for the 
scope of Arnold's treason contemplated the capture of Washington 
as well as West Point. 

Washington returned from TTartford by the way of Fishkill. 
Soon after leaving the latter place he met the French Minister, 



244 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Luzerne, with his suite, and was persuaded to return with them in 
Fishkill and spend the night there. Early the following morning 
Washington and his stafif were on their way to West Point, intend- 
ing to breakfast with Arnold at the Robinson House, but as the\ 
approached the place Washington took another road, and Lafayette 
said, "General, you are going in the wrong direction." Washington 
replied humorously. "Ah, I know, you young men are all in love 
with Mrs. Arnold, and wish to get where she is as soon as possible. 
You may go and take your breakfast with her and tell her not to 
wait for me, for I must ride down and examine the redoubts on this 
side of the river, and will be there in a short time." However, the 
officers accompanietl Washington, with the exception of two aids, 
who, at the request of Washington, rode on to notify Mrs. Arnold 
of the cause of the delay. 

Breakfast was waiting when the aids arrived, and those present 
sat down. During the meal a letter from Colonel Jameson was 
handed to Arnold. It was the one Jameson wrote two days before, 
announcing the capture of Andre. Arnold asked to be excused, 
saying he was needed at West Point immediately. To his aids he 
said, "Say to General Washington that I have imexpectedly been 
called over the river and will return very soon." He went to his 
wife's room and sent for her. Lie told her that he must leave at 
once, and that they might never meet again, that his life depended 
upon his reaching the Lritish lines before he was detected. Mrs. 
Arnold fainted. Leaving her in that condition Arnold hurried down 
stairs, mounted a horse and rode at full speed to the bank of the 
river, where his boat lay. Lie entered it and directed the men to row- 
rapidly down the river, telling them that he was going on board the 
Vulture with a flag of truce, and that he was in great haste, as he 
was expecting Washington and wished to return as soon as possible. 

Washington arrived at the Robinson House just after Arnold 
left. He received Arnold's message, took a hasty breakfast, and 
went over to West Point to meet him, and was greatly surprised to 



WEST POINT AND THE LOWER HUDSON 



245 



find that Arnold was not there, and had not been for two days, and 
that the officer in charge had not heard from him in that time. 
Washington inspected the works and returned to Arnold's for 
dinner. As he was walking up from the dock he met Hamilton, 
who told him of Arnold's treason and flight. Calling upon Knox 
and Lafavette for counsel, Washington said. "Whom can we trust 




Washington's headquarters at tappan 

now?" Hamilton was sent immediately to Verplanck's Point in the 
hope of intercepting Arnold, but the traitor was already on board 
the J'lilttirc. 

Washington could not know whether or not others were involved 

in Arnold's treason, but he decided to take all the officers into his 

confidence. This was greatly appreciated by them, the more so 

because circumstances were somewhat against Jameson, and one 

"or two others, though all were innocent of any wrong act. 

Andre was tried by a board of fourteen general officers, Lafay- 
ette, Greene, Stirling and Steuben being among the mmiber. He 
was declared to be a spy and condemned to suffer the death of one. 



246 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



Andre did not seem to fear death greatly, but he dreaded to die the 
death of a spy, and begged that he might be shot instead of being 
hanged. Every one sympathized with him, but it seemed necessar\ 
that an example should be made of him, the more so that his case 




CAPTURE UF MAJOR ANDRE 



was very similar to that of Hale, for whom no mercy had been 
shown. 

At Ta])pan .Vndre was confined in a stone mansion, afterward 
occupied as a tavern by Thomas Wandle. His trial took place in 
the old Dutch church. 

The Americans made strenuous efforts to capture Arnold, but 
without avail, deneral Clinton and other British officers pleaded 
earnestly for Andre's release, which of course could not be granted. 
Arnold wrote a letter to Washington threatening in case Andre was 
executed to retaliate upon every American whom he might after- 
ward capture. Arnold's course after his treason did qfiite as much 
toward blackening his memory as did his treason itself. 

Andre was arrested near Tarrytown on the 23d of September, 
and was executed at Tappan on the 3d of October of the same year. 



WEST POINT AND THE LOWER HUDSON 



247 



His execution took place in the presence of the army, on the summit 
of a low hill about a quarter of a mile to the west of Tappan. 

A monument has been erected at Tarrytown to the memory of 
John Paulding, David Williams and Isaac \'an Wart, the captors of 
Andre. 

A monument to the memory of \\'illiams has been erected on 
the grounds of the old fort at 
Schoharie, he having been a resi- 
dent of Schoharie county for 
many years before his death. 
The Corporation of the City of 
New York erected a monument 
to the memory of John Pauld- 
ing in the graveyard of the little 
church on the \'an Courtlandt 
Alanor, about two miles west of 
Peekskill. In 1829 the citizens 
of Westchester coimty erected a 
monument at Greenburgh in 
memory of Isaac \^an Wart. 
While these men and their act^ 
are kept in remembrance by the 
monument erected in their honor 
at the place where Andre was 
captured, the people among 
whom they lived also honored their act and commemorated their 
memorv by suitable monuments. 




MONUMENT TO THE CAPTORS OF 
ANDRE 



THE MILITARY SCHOOL AT WEST POINT 

W^ashington, mindful of the fact that a large portion of his 
trained officers during the Revolution were chosen from the ranks 
of foreign soldiers, because we lacked men who had had military 



248 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



training, urged in his message of 1798 the estabhshment of a mih- 
tary academy. Congress being then, as often, very dilatory, nothing 
was done at that time toward acting upon Washington's recom- 
mendation. In 1798, 1800 and 1801 some provision was made for 
the instruction of cadets, but it was not until 1802 that the Military 
Academy can fairly be said to have come into existence, and it led 
a very feeble life till 1812; in fact, there was not a single cadet at 




LOOKING NORTH FROM WEST POINT 



West Point at the time of the declaration of war between Great 
Britain and the United States. 

At this time Congress was willing to act, and i)rovision was made 
for two hundred and fifty cadets. It was provided that admission 
to the Academy should be determined by examination, which had 
not previously been required. 

Major Thayer was made the Superintendent of the Academy in 
1817. and he held the position for sixteen years. To him, far more 



WEST POINT AND THE LOWER HUDSON 249 

than to any one else, is due the credit for the general plan of the 
school. 

The usefulness of the Academy was fully justified during the 
Civil War, for although only the merest fraction of the ofificers 
engaged on either side had had any military experience, a very large 
portion of those who achieved eminence during the conflict owed 
their success to the training they received at West Point. This fact 
is shown by the careers of Grant, Lee, ]\IcClellan. Jackson, Sher- 
man, Johnston, Burnside, Beauregard, Hooker, Pemberton. Sheri- 
dan, Longstreet, Thomas, Bragg, Halleck, Rosecrans, Early, Buel, 
Buckner, and many others. 

The Academy has grown continually in equipment and in effi- 
ciency. There are now more than one hundred fifty buildings of 
various kinds in use. and Congress has appropriated several millions 
for further improvements. 

KINGSTON 

Our state government was organized at Kingston in 1777. It 
was there on the 30th of July, 1777, that George Clinton was 
declared elected the first governor of the state. Kingston received 
its first charter from Governor Stuyvesant in 1661. Kingston was 
the first capital of the state, and at the time it was made the capital 
had about twent}-five hundred inhal)itants, being the third city of 
the state in population. 

In 1776 the General Assembly of Xew York changed its title to 
"Convention of Re])resentatives oi the State of Xew York." The 
body appointed a committee to draft a constitution for a state gov- 
ernment and then adjourned to lucet in the city of New York on the 
8th of July, but the appearance of Howe before that date prevented 
the meeting. The convention held short sessions at Harlem, White 
Plains and Fishkill, and then adjourned to meet at Kingston, where 
they reassembled in February. 1777, and continued in session till the 
following May. They met in a stone building that is sometimes 



250 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



called the "Constitution House," and sometimes the "Old Senate 
House." Here the first constitution for the state of New York was 
adopted. John Jay was the chairman of the committee that drafted 
it and the work was mainly his. The draft of the constitution was 
submitted to the convention on the 12th of March. It was very 




CONSTITUTION HOUSE AT KINGSTON 

fully discussed and was adopted on the 30th of Aj)ril, 1777. The 
work of drafting this constitution was so well done that we lived 
under it for forty-seven years, very few amendments being made 
during that time. This constitution was printed in pamphlet form 
at Fishkill by Samuel Loudon, on the only press in the state to 
which the patriots had access at that time. It is a matter of some 
interest that this was the first book ])rinted in the state. 

At the time of the advance of Sir Henry Clinton, in 1777, Fort 
Putnam was not yet completed, and there w^as no other fort at West 
Point on the west side of the river. Fort Constitution was opposite 



WEST POINT AXD THE LOWER HUDSON 251 

West Point on what is now known as Constitution Island. Forts 
Montgomery and Clinton were opposite Anthony's Nose. Clinton 
easily made his way up the river. With him was General Vaughn 
with a force of thirty-six hundred men. All the vessels on the river 
were destroyed, and the houses of prominent Whigs were burned. 
The expedition reached Kingston on the 13th of October, 1777. A 
force was landed and the city was burned, only a few stone buildings 
escaping destruction. It was supposed that Clinton would go on up 
to Albany, but for some reason he went down the river again, and 
the surrender of Burgoyne a few days later made it impossible for 
Clinton to hold any part of the river above West Point. 



ALBANY 

This place was first known as Beverwyck (sometimes spelled 
Beaverwyck). then as Willemstadt, and finally as Albany. It was 
incorporated as a city by Governor Dongan in 1686. 

A little church was built at Albany about 1657. In 171 5 this was 
replaced by the one shown in the illustration on page 252. It was 
located in the open space bounded by State, IMarket and Court 
streets. The following is from Watson's "Sketches of Olden Times 
in Xew York": ''Professor Kalm. who visited Albany in 1749, has 
left us some facts. All the people then understood Dutch. All the 
houses stood gable end to the street ; the ends were of brick, and 
the side walls of plank or logs. The gutters on the roofs went out 
almost to the middle of the street, greatly annoying travellers in 
their discharge. At the stoopes (porches) the people spent much 
of their time, especially on the shady side, and in the evening they 
were filled with both sexes. The streets were dirty by reason of the 
cattle possessing their free use during the summer nights. They 
had no knowledge of stoves, and their chimneys were so wide that 
one could drive through them with a cart and horses." 

Albany was the natural gatewav to the north and west. This 



252 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



gateway had to be held against the French and Indians in the early 
days, and later against the British and the Six Nations. From the 
earliest times Albany has been a place of great importance. It is 
said to be the second oldest existing settlement in the original thir- 
teen colonies. In 1524 Verrazano went up the Hudson, and not 
long after some I^'rench traders built a fortified trading post on 
Castle Island. Hudson did not come till eighty-five years later. At 
the time that the French first came to the vicinity of Albany it would 




ANCIENT DUTCH CHURCH AT ALBANY 



have been vastly more proper to have spoken of America as the 
"Dark Continent" than to have applied that name to Africa fifty 
years ago. 

When Albany became a city in 1686 it was second in population 
and resources to New York only, and hardly second to it in impor- 
tance. For a century and a half everything to the west and north 
of Albany, save the little hamlet at Schenectady, and the French 
settlements on the St. Lawrence, was an unbroken wilderness. 

In the early days not only the peace and comfort, but the actual 
existence of Albany was dependent upon the friendship of the Six 
Nations. This was very carefully cultivated by the Dutch. Once, 



WEST POINT AND THE LOWER HUDSON 



253 



at a council fire, a Mohawk sachem gave Albany the name of " The 
House of Peace." 

During the French wars Albany was a storehouse for munitions 
of war, and the rendezvous for troops. It was one of the busiest 
places on the continent. 

In 1754 a convention of colonial delegates was held at Albany 
for the avowed purpose of renewing treaties w'ith the Six Nations, 
but also with the hope of creating some bond of union between the 
colonies, the need of which had long been felt. Seven of the colo- 
nies, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire. Connecticut, 
Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, responded to the call. 
Many very able men were among the delegates, Benjamin Franklin ■ 
being one of the delegates from Pennsylvania. He presented a plan 
for the union of the colonies, which, after much debate, was 
approved by the convention, but nothing came from it directly, 
though no doubt it aroused a train of thought which in time bore 
fruit. James DeLancey was chosen president of the convention and 
made an address to the Indians. The chief speaker for the Six 
Nations was King Hendrick. 

Albert Shaw says Albany has long been one of the three or four 
chief law making centres of the English speaking w^orld. 

NEWBURG 

When at Newburg Washington occupied for his headquarters 
a house built in 1750 by Colonel Jonathan Hasbrouck. The house 
is now owned by the state, and is open for visitors at all times. It 
contains many military relics. 

While Washington made his headquarters at Newburg, Gen- 
erals Knox, Greene, Gates, and Colonels Biddle and Wadsworth 
were at Vail's Gate, four miles south of Newburg. They made 
their headquarters in the Ellison House, which is not now standing. 
It was while he was at Newburg that Washington received the 



254 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



famous Nicola letter, in which the writer went on to say the troops 
were without pay, and that Congress was either indifferent or help- 
less ; that the form of government was weak and that many thought 
it hcst to put all authority in the hands of one man. He argued that 
republics were weak and that whatever progress had been made was 
due to the army and not to the civil government. This whole matter 
had been much discussed bv several officers in the army, and Colonel 




WASHINGTON S HEADQUARTERS AT NEWBURG 

Nicola was selected to present the matter and suggest that Wash- 
ington become practically king and ultimately assume that title. 
Nicola performed his task as tactfully as such a task could be per- 
formed, perhaps, but its effect upon Washington might easily be 
imagined. His reply to Colonel Nicola is given here. 

Newburgh, May 22d, 1782. 
Colonel Lewis Nicola. 

Sir: — With a mixture of great surprise and astonishment, I have 

read with attention the sentiments you have submitted to my approval. 



WEST POINT AND THE LOWER HUDSON 255 

Be assured, sir, no occurrence in the course of the war has given me more 
painful sensations than your information of there being such ideas existing 
in the army as you have expressed, and which I must view with abhorrence 
and reprehend with severity. For the present the communication of them 
will rest in my own bosom, unless some further agitation of the matter shall 
make a disclosure necessary. 

I am much at a loss to conceive what part of my conduct could have given 
encouragement to an address which to me seems big with the greatest 
mischief that can befall my country. If I am not deceived in the knowledge 
of myself, j-ou could not have found a person to whom your schemes are more 
disagreeable. At the same time, in justice to my own feelings, I must add 
that no man possesses a more sincere wish to see ample justice done to the 
army than I do, and so far as my powers and influence, in a constitutional 
way, extend, they shall be employed to the utmost of my abilities to effect 
it, should there be any occasion. Let me conjure you then, if you have any 
regard for your country, concern for j-ourself, or posterity, or respect for me, 
to banish these thoughts from your mind, and never communicate, as from 
yourself, or any one else, a sentiment of the like nature. With esteem, I 
am, sir, 

Your most obedient servant, 

G. Washington. 



TWO NOTED HOUSES 

The Verplanck House is about two miles north-east of Fishkill 
Landing, and a mile from the river. During the Revokition it was 
owned by Samuel \^erplanck. P)aron Steuben had his headquarters 




THE VERPLANCK HOUSE 



here. It was here that the Nicola letter was written, and here that 
the Society of the Cincinnati was formed in 1783. 

It was at Dobb's Ferry that Rochaml^eau and Washington met 
and planned the ^'orktown campaign. In 1780 Washington made 
the Livingston House at Dobb's Ferry his headquarters for a short 
time. With him were Lafayette, Stirling, Steuben, Knox, Greene 
and Hamilton. 

256 



TWO NOTED HOUSES 



257 



In 1781 \\'ashing'ton was at this house for several weeks and 
with him were many distinguished French officers. It was at this 
house that he met Carleton to arrange for the evacuation of New 
York by the British. 

There is so much to be said of the Lower Hudson that one 
scarcely knows when or where to stop, but stop one must some time. 
Perhaps no better place will be found to conclude than at this point, 




VAN COURTLANDr MANOR HOUSE 



Iholigh the story of the capture of Stony Point by the dashing 
Anthony Wayne is left untold ; the Van Courtlandt Manor House, 
v.here Washington, Franklin, Rochambeau and Lafayette were 
guests, and from whose veranda George Whitefield once preached, 
has not been mentioned ; the many interesting details of West Point 
have not even been alluded to ; and a wealth of historic matter is left 
untouched. 

One never thinks of tlie Hudson without also thinking of Wash- 



258 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

ington Irving and "Rip Van Winkle" ; Joseph Rodman Drake and 
"The Culprit Fay" ; Fenimore Cooper and "The Spy" ; Clement C. 
Moore and "The Night Before Christmas" ; of George P. Morris, 
N. P. Willis, Miss Warner, E. P. Roe, and Gulian C. Verplanck. 

Of the beautiful Hudson Bayard Taylor wrote: "The glorious 
river — still, to my eyes, after seeing the Danube, the Rhine, the 
Rhone, the Nile and the Ganges — the most beautiful river in the 
world." 



ALONCx LAKE CHAMPLAIN 

Linked to many a wild tradition 

In the grimy wigwam told, 
Where the red men breathless listened 

To the Mohawk hunter bold — 
Girt about with mystic legends 

That have not been breathed in vain, 
'Neath the clear skies of the Northland, 

Lie the waters of Champlain. 

— Thomas C. Harbauoh. 

This beautiful lake, rivalled in our state only by Lake (ieort;e, 
was named in honor of Samuel Champlain, its discoverer, who, 
in 1609, passed over its resplendent surface, and gazed with 
delight upon its magnificent setting, as he with a war party of 
Hurons and Algonquins passed through it on an expedition against 
the JMohawks. 

Lake Champlain had several Indian names not often used, and 
there is a diiTerence of opinion as to what names the Lidians did 
ai)ply to this body of water. It has sometimes been spoken of as 
"The Lake of the Iroquois," and occasionally it is called "Lake 
Corlear," in honor of Arendt Corlear, spoken of elsewhere, who 
was drowned in its waters. 

Lake Champlain is about ninety miles long and varies in widtli 
from less than a quarter of a mile to more than thirteen miles. It 
has an area of about five hundred square miles. Its average level 
is a trifle less than one hundred feet above tidewater. 

There has been a difference of opinion as to where Lake Cham- 
plain really begins. It is now generally regarded as begimiing at 
Whitehall, but some of the early writers claimed that the lake l)egan 
at Ticonderoga, and the part south of that was a part of Wood 

259 



260 



EARLY NliW YORK HISTORY 



Ft.Slontgomery ^\ 




Creek. Other early writers 
claimed that the lake proper 
began at Crown Point. 

Assuming" for our purposes 
that the first statement is cor- 
rect we will give a brief review 
of the matters and places of his- 
toric interest associated with 
this section of our state. 

In 1763 one Philip Skene, 
an English major who had re- 
tired on half pay, settled at 
what is now known as White- 
hall, but which then and for 
some time after was known as 
Skenesborough. Ten years later 
there were seventy-three fami- 
lies in that locality, all but 
two being tenants of Skene's. 
Skenesborough was regarded 
as a place of considerable im- 
portance during the Revolu- 
tion. 

Two miles north of White- 
hall, on the west side of the 
lake, is an inlet about a mile 
wide and seven miles long, 
known as South Bay. Dieskau 
went up this bay on his way to 
attack J(~)hnson in 1755. 

Twenty-four miles north of 
Whitehall is old Fort Ticon- 
derosfa. which we have alreadv 



MAP OF L.\KH C1I.\MPLAIN 



ALONG LAKE CHAMPLAIN 261 

described. Twelve miles farther north is Crown Point, where the 
French built Fort St. h>ederic, which they demolished in 1759. 
( ieneral Amherst be^'an a very much larger work in its place the 
same year. Remains of this iovt are yet to be seen. The historical 
account of these forts has already been given. 

Ten miles north of Crown Point and on the opposite side of the 
lake is a small bay, where Arnold, after his defeat b)- the British, ran 
the vessel Congress and four small gondolas aground and burned 
them. 

At \'ergennes, on Otter Creek. INIacdonough fitted out the fleet 
with which he won his victory over the British on September 11, 
1814. 

On the nth of October, 1776, Arnold, with a fleet of fifteen 
vessels, consisting of the schooners Royal Saz'agc and Revenge, the 
sloop Enterprise, four galleys and eight gondolas, mounting eighty- 
four guns, and one hundred fifty-two swivels, and manned b\ 
about eight hundred men, engaged the Britisli fleet of twenty-nine 
vessels, consisting of the ship Inflexible, the schooners Maria and 
Carleton, one radeau, one gondola, and twenty gunboats. These 
vessels mounted eighty-nine guns, and were manned by about seven 
hundred men. The engagement took place between A'alcour Island 
and the west shore of the lake. The British were successful. The 
Royal Savage was sunk at the southern end of the island. 

It was on Lake Champlain, somewhere between Crown Point 
and Fort Ticonderoga, very likely in the bay just north of Ticon- 
deroga, that occurred the conflict between Champlain and the 
Mohawks, a conflict fraught with momentous consec[uences in that 
it arrayed the Iroquois against the T^rench. This conflict occurred 
on the 30th of July, 1609. 

Fort St. Anne, on Isle La Mottc, in the northern part of Lake 
Champlain, was built by the French Captain La Motte, in 1642, to 
serve as a protection against the incursions of the Irocjuois. In 
1666 this fort was occupied by several companies of French troops. 



262 liARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

In September of that }ear some six luindrcd troops were gathered 
there and about the same numl^er of CanacHan vokinteers were on 
the mainland opposite. From this point a month hiter an expedition 
imder the command of Tracy and Courcelle was sent against the 
Mohawks. 

For a long time Lake Champlain was simply a thoroughfare. 
The first settlement in the Champlain valley was probably at Fort 
St. Anne in 1665. It was abandoned after a few years. The first 
permanent settlement was probably made at Crown Point, a fort 
being erected there by the French in 1731, and a settlement was 
soon formed about it. 

Crown Point was the seat of French power on the lake till 1750. 
It was the rallying point of the many savage tribes who were affili- 
ated with the French. It was here that they organized their expe- 
ditions against their enemies, here that they celebrated their victo- 
ries or bemoaned their defeats. ^lany incongruous events occurred 
here, as was the case in most frontier towns. "The sounds of 
religious services were intermingled with the exultant shouts of 
victorious savages." 

When the British came into possession of Crown Point they ' 
spent more than ten millions of dollars on the fort there, but it was 
never completed, and this vast amount was practically thrown away. 
After the defeat of Arnold the Americans abandoned their works at 
Crown Point, after destroying everything that they were unable to 
take to Ticonderoga on their retreat. When the French abandoned 
Crown Point in 1759 they sank one schooner and three sloops at the 
north end of Valcour Island. 

As Burgoyne was passing up the lake with his army he halted 
for a time at Cumberland Plead waiting the arrival of ammuni- 
tion and stores. Upon their arrival he went up the lake as far as 
Boucjuet River, where he was joined by about four hundred Indians, 
to whom he gave a war-feast at their encampment near the falls 
of the river. 



ALONG LAKE CHAMPLAIN 263 

During- the War of 181 2 tliere was much activity in the vicinit}' 
of Plattsburg. On the 31st of July, 1813, Colonel Murray with 
a force of about fourteen hundred men entered Plattsburg' with- 
out resistance and proceeded to destroy the blockhouse, arsenal, 
armory, hospital, and the military cantonment near Fredenburgh 
Falls, about two miles from Plattsburg. In addition to this 
three private stone houses were burned and several private build- 
ings plundered. 

On the 3d of September, 1814, fourteen thousand British troops 
were collected at Champlain. They were under the command of 
Sir George Provost. On the 4th they reached Chazy, and the night 
of the 5th they encamped near Sampson's, about eight miles from 
Plattsburg. 

To oppose this force there were only four thousand Americans 
^vho were under the command of General Macomb. There was 
considerable fighting on the morning of the 6th, with a loss of forty- 
five killed and wounded on the part of the Americans, and more 
than two hundred of the British. Both sides spent the next few 
(lavs in strengthening their positions. The Americans sent their sick 
and wounded to Crab Island. A small battery, mounting two six- 
pounders, was established there. 

On the nth the British fleet, which had been at Isle La Motte, 
moved south to attack the Americans under Macdonough. The 
British under Captain Downie had seventeen vessels mounting 
ninety-five guns and manned by more than a thousand men. The 
Americans had fourteen vessels mounting eighty-six guns and 
manned by about eight hundred fifty men. In every respect the 
Americans seemed to be outclassed. 

After a conflict so severe that "there was not a mast in either 
fleet fit for use," the Americans won a decisive victory, capturing 
the largest British vessel. The engagement lasted two hours and a 
half and was the most bitterly contested naval fight of the war. 

Durinof the naval contest the British attacked the Americans on 



264 EARLY XI'W YORK HISTORY 

land, but on the defeat of the Ilritisli lleet Provost withdrew his 
forces to Canada. 

Since the battle of Plattsburj;- the C'haniplain lake and valley 
have been the scene (^f active commerce and a favorite resort for 
totn-ists and summer visitors. 



THROUGH THE MOHAWK VALLEY 

The Mohawk valley is now the great trade route to the west. 
In the early days it was of no less importance. From our first 
knowledge of it to the close of the Revolution it was a great war 
route. Through this valley the tide of war surged back and forth 
for many generations. Almost every rod of its land is historic. The 
fights and massacres that took place here were so numerous and so 
bloody that that section was known as "the dark and bloody ground." 

In the preceding pages some of the more important events of 
the Mohawk valley have been mentioned, but no clear general view 
of its history has been given. Not all the events of consequence can 
be given now, but it is hoped that a clear picture of life in the 
valley in the early and strenuous days may be given the reader. 
Wq shall interest ourselves chiefly with that part of the valley 
extending from Schenectady on the east to Rome on the west. It 
was at these two points and in the territory between them that the 
most important events in the history of the valley occurred. 

For a long time Schenectady was the extreme frontier post to the 
west and so was constantly exposed to attacks by the French and the 
Canadian Indians. Until 1665 Schenectady was a part of Albany, 
and it remained a part of Albany county till 1809. 

One of the most prominent of the early inhabitants of Schenec- 
tady was Arendt Van Curler, or as he is more frequently called. 
Corlear. He visited the site of Schenectady as early as 1642, though 
the place was not settled until 1662. 

Upon the assignment of lots at the organization of the village 
the one occupied by Corlear was where the Mohawk club house now 
stands. 

265 



266 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

\'an Corlcar was very ])opular with the i\Ioliawks. Xo man. 
with the possihle exce])ti()n of I'eter Schuyler and Sir W'ilhani John- 
son, ever enjoyed the confidence of the fndians to the extent that 
Corlear chd. This is evidenced by the fact that the Mohawks always 
called the governor of tlie colony "Corlear." 

Corlcar was the acknowledged leader of the Schenectady settle- 
ment. He came from Holland in 1630 to superintend the Van 
Rensselaer manor and served in that capacity till 1646. During a 
portion of this time he was the secretary of the colony. He married 
in 1643 '^'''*^' settled on the "Flatts" above Albany, where he lived till 
he joined with others in settling Schenectady. 

While Van Corlear was living at the "Flatts" he learned of the 
captivity of Father Jogues, and visited the Alohawk country to 
secure his release, but without success. Later he was instrumental 
in aiding Jogues to escape. 

On his return from this mission ir.to the ^Nlohawk country. 
Van Corlear wrote to his employer, Kiliaen Xan Rensselaer, that 
"half a day's journey from the Colonic, on the Alohawk River, there 
lies the most beautiful land that the eye of man ever beheld." AVith 
this feeling toward the Mohawk valle\- it is not strange that he was 
among the first settlers who went into that country, though it was 
the extreme frontier post of the colony and certain for many years 
to be exposed to all the dangers of frontier life. 

It has been learned thr(nigh a diary kept by \"an Corlear, which 
was discovered and published a few years since, that he visited the 
Mohawk valley as early as 1634. In this diary Van Corlear says 
that he and two other white men with five Indian guides left Fort 
Orange (Albany) on the 1 ith of December, 1634. The following 
is an extract from the diary : 

"Dec. 13. In the morning we went together to the Castle over the ice 
that had frozen during the night in the kil (river) and, after going half a mile 
(a Dutch mile is about three English miles) we arrived at their first Castle, 
which is built on a hiidi mountain. There stood tliirtv-six houses, in rowr. 



THROUGH THE MOHAWK VALLEY 



267 



like streets, so that we could pass nicely. The houses are made and covered 
with the l^ark of trees, and mostly are flat at the top. Some are a hundred, 
ninety, or eighty paces long, and twenty-two and twenty-three feet high. 
There were some inside doors of hewn boards, furnished with iron hinges. 
In some houses we saw different kinds of iron chains, harrow irons, iron hoops, 
nails, — all probably stolen somewhere. Most of the people were out hunting 
deer and bear. The houses were full of corn that they lay in store, and we 
saw maize; ves, in some of the houses more than three hundred bushels." 







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THE MABIE HOUSE 



\^an Corlear was drowned in Lake Champlain in the year 1667 
while on his way to Montreal with a party of Mohawks. For many 
years after this event the Five Nations spoke of that body of water 
as Corlear's Lake. 

The story of the massacre at Schenectady has been told in the 
preceding pages. Until 1772 Albany county extended toward the 
west without any well defined boundaries. During the year 1772 
Tryon county was organized. It included all the territory of the 
])rovince west of Albany. It was divided into four districts, 



268 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

each with a larg-c territon- sparsely settled. The chstrict fartliest 
to the east was caUed Mohawk. It iiichuled Johnstown, and was 
completely dominated by the Johnsons. The territory west of the 
Mohawk district, on the south side of the river, as far west as Little 
Falls, was known as the Canajoharie district ; and the corresponding 
territory north of the Mohawk constituted the Palatine district ; 
all the territory on both sides of the river, west of the Canajoharie 
and the Palatine districts formed the German Flatts and Kingsland 
district. 

If we begin at Schenectady and pass westward till we reach 
Rome, considering the important events of each locality as we reach 
it, a clearer picture will be presented than if we studied the same 
events in the order in which they occurred. A study of the map of 
the Mohawk valley will be found to be very helpful. 

Some seven miles west from Schenectady, and about a mile west 
of Rotterdam, is an old house built of stone laid closely together 
without luortar. It is on a high bluff commanding a fine view. It is 
of interest chiefly because it is probably the oldest house in the 
valley, having been built in 1780 or a little earlier. Its original 
owner was Jan Mabie, and the place is now owned by his descend- 
ants, though not occupied by them. 

THE BEUKENDAAL FIGHT 

What was known as the "Beukendaal Massacre" took place 
about midway between Schenectady and IToff'man's Ferry, about 
three miles from the former place. It was in no sense a massacre, 
but was a very bloody fight. It is of no historical importance out- 
side the immediate locality, but is t}])ical of many of the encounters 
that took place on the frontier, and for that reason may w^ell be 
described. Beukendaal is the Dutch word for beechdale, and sug- 
gests the character of the country where the fight occurred. 

In July, 1747, Daniel Toll, accompanied by a negro servant and 
a companion named Dirck \'an \^)rst. went from Schenectady to 



THROUGH THF. MOHAWK VALLEY 269 

Jjeukendaal in search of some stray horses. While looking for them 
they heard what they thought was horses stamping. Going in the 
direction of the sound they entered an open space, where a party of 
Indians were playing quoits, making on the clayey ground the noise 
Toll and his companions mistook for the stamping of horses. They 
discovered their mistake too late. Toll was killed and \'an Vorst 
captured, but the negro escaped and carried the news to Schenec- 
tady. About the same time Adrian A'an Slyck. who was on his 
farm which lay on the river road toward Amsterdam, about a mile 
from Scotia, learned of the presence of the Indians and sent for help. 
P""our parties, numbering in all about sixty men, responded to the 
calls. They did not come together, but in parties separated by 
about an hour's time. The parties were made up in the main of 
young men who were without experience or discipline, and did not 
even have a leader. It was the old, old story of zeal without pru- 
dence, which was exemplified so many times on the frontier. 

The first party to arrive saw, as they thought, Mr. Toll sitting 
with his back to a fence and in front of him a crow, which would 
flv short distances, but not leave the immediate vicinity of Toll. 
This aroused the curiosity of the men and they hastened to investi- 
gate, and were met by a storm of bullets from the hidden Indians, 
who had planned what proved to be a successful ambuscade. Many 
of the whites were killed, some taken prisoners, but a portion suc- 
ceeded in escaping and reaching a deserted house belonging to a 
Mr. DeGraaf. On their retreat they were met by another party 
sent out to rescue Toll and his companion. The two forces fought 
desperately with the Indians. It was a hand to hand fight. They 
finally reached the house, entered it and barricaded the doors and 
windows. A little later the Schenectady militia appeared and the 
Indians withdrew. In the fight twenty of the whites were killed, 
thirteen, or fourteen taken prisoners, and a number wounded. 

The Toll mansion and the DeGraaf house are still standing. The 
Toll mansion is about half way between Schenectady and Hofifman's 



270 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Ferry. It is about forty rods from the Central Railroad on the 
right hand side as one goes to the west. A little to the east of the 
Toll mansion, but not in sight from the railroad, is the DeGraaf 
house, one of the oldest in the valley. 

FORT HUNTER 

From its position at the juncture of the Schoharie Creek and the 
Mohawk, Fort Hunter was a place of considerable importance. 
The Mohawk Indians had a castle there before the erection of Fort 
Hunter. Their castle was destroyed by the French and the Cana- 
dian Indians in 1689 and again in 1693. In 1709 Peter Schuyler 
accompanied several of the Indian kings, so called, to London. 
Queen Anne took a great interest in them and promised to provide 
them with a chapel, a school, and a fort. The fort was erected at the 
junction of the Schoharie Creek and the Mohawk River south of the 
Mohawk, and on the east bank of the Schoharie. It was named 
Hunter in honor of the governor of the colony. The fort was one 
hundred and fifty feet square, Avith a blockhouse at each corner 
large enough to accommodate twenty men. 

Surrounded by the palisades of the fort was Queen Anne's 
Chapel. It was built of limestone, was twenty-four feet square, and 
had a belfry and a bell. The chapel w-as furnished by Queen Anne. 
It had an organ, the first one ever seen west of Albany, preceding 
the one at Johnstown by more than fifty years. The Queen fur- 
nished a communion tablecloth, damask napkins, carpet for com- 
munion table, altar ch^th, Holland surplice, cushion for desk, large 
Bible, prayerbooks, book of homilies, silver salver, flagons and 
chalice, foiu" paintings of Her Majesty's arms on canvas, twelve 
large octavo Bibles, two painted tables containing the Lord's Prayer, 
Creed and Ten Commandments, and a candelabrum with nine 
sockets. 

At Fort Hunter the Indians built a schoolhouse twelve feet wide 
and thirty feet lon<>". The Rev. Mr. Andrews had charge of this 



THROUGH THE MOHAWK VALLEY 



271 



scIk^oI and had twenty children in attendance. When tlie Indians 
were all at home there were sometimes as many as one hnndred and 
fifty attendants at church, thirty-eight of whom were communicants. 
The communion set given by Queen Anne was entrusted to the 
care of Brant and has since been in charge of his descendants. 




K AT AURIESVILLE 



During the Revolution the Mohawks buried it and at the close of the 
war thev recovered it and took it to their new home in Canada. 

Fort Hunter was a place of considerable importance during the 
Indian raids of 1778-80. 

AURIESVILLE 

A little to the west of Fort Hunter, on the south bank of the 
Mohawk, is the little hamlet of Auriesville. It was here or near 
here that Father Jogues and his associate Goupil were so l)rutal]\ 
murdered. The society of which Father Jogues was a member 



272 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



has erected at Auriesville a shrine in honor of his memory. It was 
at or near Auriesville that a portion of the Mohawks made their 
home after the destruction of their castle at Fort Hunter. 

TRIBES HILL 

A little to the north of Fort Iluntet is Tribes Hill, not of great 
note historically, yet frequently referred to in the history of the 
valley. Some of the men who were active in public affairs made 
their home there. It was the birthplace of Hendrick Flanson, the 
first white child born in the Mohawk valley, west of Schenectadw 
Hanson's father, Nicholas Hanson, emigrated from Albany to 
Tribes Hill about 1725. John Johnson in his raid through the valley 
in 1780 plundered Tribes Hill as he did other places. 

THE BUTLER HOUSE 

Not far from Tribes Hill is Switzer Hill, where is still standing 
the old house which was the home of the Butlers. It is about thirty 
rods south of the junction of the Tribes Hill road with that leading 
from Fonda to Johnstown. The house was built by Walter Butler, 
Sr., in 1743. Here lived in succession Captain Walter Butler, Sr.. 
his son, Colonel John Butler, and his grandson. Lieutenant Walter 
Butler. Colonel John Butler was in command at Wyoming and was 
responsible for the horrible massacre at that place. His son. Lieu- 
tenant Walter Butler, will be forever execrated because of the mas- 
sacre at Cherrv \'alley. Both father and son were concerned in the 
greater part of the Indian raids and massacres which resulted in 
almost depopulating the Mohawk valley during the Revolution. 

Walter was killed after the Battle of Johnstown. There are 
many versions of the aff'air. The one most commonly given is that 
he was killed by an Oneida Indian at a place that has since been 
known as Butler's Ford. It is said that Butler on his retreat after 
the battle had reached th.e Fast Canada Creek at a place about fif- 



THROUGH THE MOHAWK VALLEY 



273 



teen miles above Herkimer. He swam the stream on his horse, then 
turned and shouted defiance at his enemies who were pursuing him. 
At that moment he was shot by the Oneida referred to, who swam 
across the creek and tomahawked hii7i, though Butler pleaded in 
vain for mercy. It is said that the Indian replied to Butler's plead- 
ings by saying, "Sherry Valley! Remember Sherry Valley!" 




THE BUTLER HOUSL; 



About all that is certainly known is that Butler was killed at the 
place mentioned. 

The story of Johnstown has already been fully told. 



STONE ARABIA 

Stone Arabia was a little hamlet about three miles north of Pala- 
tine. During the Revolution there was a small fort there known as 
Fort Paris. Colonel Brown was stationed there with a force of one 
hundred and thirty men. When Sir John Johnson made his raid 
through the valley General Van Rensselaer ordered Colonel Brown 



274 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



to hold the enemy in check, so that he could attack them in the rear. 
Colonel Brown obeyed orders, but owing to some delay General 
Van Rensselaer did not make the promised attack. Colonel Brown 
and thirty or forty of his men were killed. 

FONDA 

Where is now the villagre of Fonda was a hamlet known as 



Caughnawaga. The name 




AN'CIENT DUTCH CHURCH AT 
CAUGHNAWAGA 



was changed to Fonda in honor of 
Douw or Henry Fonda, or possibly in 
honor of both. Douw Fonda was one 
of the original patentees, and he and 
Henry Fonda were very active in build- 
ing up the place. Just to the east of 
the present village of Fonda was the 
old Indian village of Caughnawaga. 
The town suffered much during the 
Revolution. It was burned by Sir John 
Johnson during his raid in 1780. The 
ancient Dutch church at Caughnawaga 
was founded in 1762 by Sir William 
Johnson. The principal supporters 
of the church were the Fonda, Vroo- 
man, Wemple, and \'eeder families. 
The first pastor of the church was 



the Reverend Thomas Romevn. 



CANAJOHARIE 

Canajoharie is a thrifty little village on the south side of the 
Mohawk, a little over forty miles west of Schenectady. The upper 
]\Iohawk castle was located there. The parents of Joseph Brant 
lived in the Canajoharie district, but not where the present village 
is located. He made his home there till after the death of his first 
wife. The village was destroyed by the Indians in 1780. It was 



THROUGH THE MOHAWK VALLEY 275 

here that CHnton gathered his forces and sent out an expedition 
against the Onondagas, then crossed over to the head of Otsego 
Lake on his way to join SulHvan. 

THE PALATINES 

Before considering the Palatine district it is necessary to have 
some understanding of the Palatines, who they were, why they 
came to this country, and the character of the people. The immi- 
gration of the Palatines forms one of the most interesting events 
in the history of the state, and the care of this people caused at least 
two colonial governors more concern than any other one matter 
connected with their administrations. 

These people belonged to the lower Palatinate of the Rhine. 
They were ruled by an hereditary prince, who was styled the Count 
Palatine of the Rhine. The Palatine espoused the cause of Luther, 
and during the religious wars which followed, the territory of the 
Palatines was the battle ground of armies and was ravaged again 
and again. Louis XIV of France sent armies into the Palatinate 
and destroyed cities and towns, gardens and vineyards, and fields 
of grain. It is said that at one time there were two cities and 
twenty-five towns in flames. After this w'ork of destruction the 
Palatines became exiles and wanderers. About the beginning of the 
eighteenth century they began to make their way into England. 
Later they sought homes in the new world and in this way they were 
encouraged by the Engljsh, who believed that these Palatines, being 
the hereditary foes of the French, would make desirable settlers in 
the country where the French and English were struggling for the 
possession of a continent. 

The first of the Palatines who came to this country consisted of 
a party of forty under the leadership of Joshua Koekerthal. They 
settled in Orange county near Newburg in the spring of 1709. The 
following year about three thousand others came. They were set- 
tled on a tract of six thousand acres of land near Gcrmantown, 



276 • EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

Columbia county. The English government defrayed the expenses 
of this large party and became responsible for their maintenance for 
a year. In return the Palatines agreed to settle on such lands as 
should be allotted them, and not leave without the governor's per- 
mission. There was "graft" even in those early days and the poor 
Palatines suffered greatly in consequence. There is not time to tell 
very fully the story of their grievances. The land allotted them 
was not adapted for the business assigned them. Those who were 
able to meet their obligations to the English left, and joined their 
brethren in Pennsylvania, but the larger number was compelled 
by stress of circumstances to remain in this state. A new ministry 
had come into power in England and it repudiated the agreements 
made with the Palatines and would not allot them land till they had 
paid their debt to the English, and these poor people found them- 
selves virtually in slavery. They had been promised five pounds in 
money for each person, but no part of it had been paid. They had 
been promised clothes, tools, seed, etc., but little was furnished them. 
Their children were taken from them without their consent and 
bound out till they were of age. They furnished three hundred men 
for the expedition against Canada, but they were never paid for 
their services and many of them came back to find their families 
starving. Many of them were sent to aid the garrison at Albany, 
and they also received no pay. The fall of the year came and many 
of these people went into the Schoharie valley, where the Indians 
had given them permission to settle ; but when fifty families had 
reached the valley the governor ordered them not to occupy the land 
under penalty of being declared rebels. However, their necessities 
were such that they had no choice but to remain and take the 
chances of the governor's displeasure. Early the following spring 
the remainder of the Palatines on the Hudson joined their friends 
at Schoharie. The English seem to have done about all that they 
could to make life unendurable for the Palatines, who must have 
perished but for the friendship of the Indians. It is probable that the 



THROUGH THE MOHAWK VALLEY 



277 



Palatines would have avoided most of their troubles had they at 
first settled in Schoharie or in the valley of the Mohawk instead of 
being sent to the unfit place on the Hudson. It seems clear that 
most of the trouble grew out of a shameful efifort on the part of a few 
men to gather wealth at the expense of the government. 

A third party of Palatines came to this country in 1722. It was 
at about this time that these people made a settlement at German 
Flatts. 

Macaulay, speaking of the Palatines, says, "They were honest, 
laborious men, who had once been thriving burghers of Mannheim 
and Heidelberg, or who had cultivated the vine on the banks of the 
Neckar and the Rhine ; their ingenuity and their diligence could not 
fail to enrich any land which should afiford them an asylum." 

Among the Palatine names now to be met with in the valley are 
Hoffman, Bellinger, Plartman, Edick, Wever, Helmer, Becker, 
Kneiskern, Conrad, Young, Houck, Angell, Snyder, Wagner, New- 
kirk, Kline, Planck, and many others who are descendants of the 
people of whom Macaulay speaks so highly. One of Sir William 
Johnson's daughters married Daniel Clans, who was one of the 
Palatines, and a noted Indian fighter. Among the Palatines was 
a boy named John Peter Zenger, who was apprenticed to William 
Bradford, the printer, and later became a prominent figure in the 
city of New York. 

PALATINE 

Palatine, now known as Palatine Bridge, on the north side of 
the Mohawk and opposite Canajoharie, was one of the homes of the 
Palatines, as its name would indicate. The first settler in this town, 
and possiblv the first west of Schenectady, was Hcinrich Prey, a 
native of Switzerland, who occupied and laid claim to a tract of 
land there about 1690. The old homestead is still in possession of 
the family. The present house was erected in 1739, having been 
preceded by a log cabin. 



278 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



The Frey house is built of stone and is on the right hand side of 
the Central road in going west, just a little to the west of Palatine 
Bridge. 

FORT PLAIN 

Fort Plain was situated upon high ground at the rear of the 
present village of the same name. It was of some importance in the 




THE OLD FREY HOUSE AT PALATINE 



early days, affording protection to the inhabitants of that vicinity. 
The cut of the old blockhouse there will give some idea of the 
means of defence on the frontier at that time. During the Revolu- 
tion the government erected at this place a fort that was stronger 
than any other in that section of the country. It was used as a place 
of deposit for military stores for some years after the close of 
the war. 

THE PALATINE CHURCH 

Three miles to the east of the village of St. Johnsville is the old 
Lutheran meetintr-housc known as the Palatine Church. It is a 



THROUGH THE MOHAWK VALLEY 



279 



little to the north of the track of the Central Railroad and in plain 
sight to all who pass. 

The church was built of stone and is in perfect condition to-day. 
It was dedicated August i8, 1770, and from that time till the present 
has been in constant use for religious purposes. 

On the 1 8th of August. 1870. the centenary anniversary of the 
dedication of this church was appropriately observed. More than 




ANCIENT BLOCKHOUSE, FORT PLAIN 

five thousand people were present. Addresses were made by Rev- 
erend Charles A. Smith, who had been a pastor of the church more 
than half a century before ; Prof. Geortner, of Hamilton College, 
and Governor Horatio Seymour. 

The cost of erecting the church was borne by a small number of 
people. The lot was given by Hendrick W. Nellis, and Henry 
Nellis paid for building the steeple. The cost of the church exclu- 
sive of the gift of these two men was about six hundred seventy 
pounds, a very large sum for those times. William, Andrew, Jo- 
hannes, Henry, Christian, and David Xellis, sons of the before men- 
tioned Hendrick and Henry Nellis, gave sixty pounds each toward 
the erection of the church, and Johannes Hess gave a like sum. The 



28o 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



remainder of the expense, about two hundred pounds, was borne 
equally by Peter Waggoner and Andrew Reber. 

In the spire was one of three noted triangles which was used to 
call the people together for service. One of the others was in the 
old Canajoharie Academy, and the third is still in use in the Court 
House in Johnstown. 

DANUBE 

The Indian Castle Church was situated in the town of Danube. 
Herkimer county, on the site of an early Indian mission. King 

Hendrick lived near here. The 
home of General Herkimer was 
in Danube and his house is still 
standing, an illustration showing 
the same being given elsewhere 
in this volume. 

The Indian Castle Church 
was built for the Indians before 
the Revolution, chiefly through 
the efforts of Sir William John- 
son. There is still a small church 
on the old site which bears the 
name of Indian Castle Church. 

STEUBEN 

The town of Steuben in 
Oneida county was settled prin- 
cipally by the ^^'elsh. The 
greater part of the town w^as given to Baron Steuben by the State 
of New York in recognition of his services during the Revolution. 
Congress gave him an annuity of $2,500 a year. He lived on his 
estate in the town of Steuben till his death on the 28th of Novem- 
ber, 1794. 




THE PALATINE CHURCH 



THROUGH THE MOHAWK VALLEY 



281 



Steuben served man}' years in the army of Frederick the Great. 
He was one of the aids of the great general and held the rank of 
lieutenant-general. He came to this country in 1777, and offered his 
services to Congress, not asking any rank. He was made inspector- 
general with the rank of major-general. 

On the walls of a German Lutheran church in the city of New 
York is the following inscription : 

"Sacred to the memory of Frederick William Augustus Baron 
Steuben, a German ; knight of the order of Fidelity ; aide-de-camp 
to Frederick the Great, King of Prussia ; 
major-general and inspector-general in the 
Revolutionary War ; esteemed, respected, and 
supported by W'ashington. Fie gave military 
skill and discipline to the citizen soldiers, who, 
fulfilling the decrees of heaven, achieved the 
independence of the United States. The highly 
polished manners of the baron were graced by 
the most noble feelings of the heart. His hand, 
open as the day for melting charity, closed 
only in the strong hand of death. This memo- 

. ■ . •, , ? . . 11,1 INDIAN I A a-1 

rial IS mscnbed by an American, who had the 

honor to be his aide-de-camp, and the happiness to be his friend." 
The place where Steuben lived is now known as Steubenville. 




GERMAN FLATTS 

German Flatts, now Herkimer, was settled almost wholly by the 
Palatines. By 175 1 there had grown up a settlement of sixty 
dwellings and three hundred inhabitants. For many years the Pala- 
tines prospered, but on the 12th of November, 1757. M. de Belletre, 
with a party of marines, Canadians and Indians numbering about 
three hundred, destroyed the Palatine settlement. At this time the 
village contained sixt}-five houses and five blockhouses, all of whicli 



282 



EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 



were burned. Though the inhabitants surrendered without resist- 
ance a considerable number was killed and about one hundred car- 
ried into captivity. Their property was destroyed and their stock 
killed or driven off. The following spring the Palatines south of 
the river were attacked by the French and Indians and several were 
killed, but the enemy was finally driven off. The year following 
brought another period of peace. The captured Palatines returned 
to their friends, rebuilt their homes, restocked their farms, and 

began another period of prosperity which 
lasted till the outbreak of the Revolution. 
There were two forts in the Palatine 
settlement, Fort Dayton on the north side 
of the river within the boundaries of the 
present village of Herkimer, and Fort 
Herkimer on the south side of the river 
and near its bank. There were about 
seventy dwellings within the vicinity of 
these two forts. 

On the 1st of September, 1778, Brant 
with a force of about four hundred 
fifty Tories and Indians attacked the 
place. The people escaped to the forts, 
but their property was destroyed. Houses, 
barns, grist and saw-mills, horses, cattle 
and sheep, all the fruits of their industry for many years, vanished 
in a few hours. 

The Palatines bore much to maintain a principle. Twice their 
ancestors had suffered the extreme horrors of war on another con- 
tinent in the last half of the seventeenth century, and twice in the 
last half of the eighteenth the homes of these people had been de- 
stroyed, and their farms laid waste in the new world. 

Johnson held several councils with the Indians at German 
Flatts, one very important one in 1770. at which more than two 





^B 




l^H 


tlil^i 


'^ . - '^^H 




' j^^^^^^^l 




K'' / ^I[h 


HP 


^^Jh 




ImBt 


Ri^l 


^^^^1 



BARON STEUBEN 



THROUGH THE MOHAWK VALLEY 



283 



thousand Indians, representing the Six Nations and the Cherokees, 
were present. 

The first hberty pole erected in the Mohawk valley was raised 
at Fort Herkimer in 1775. At an early day a church was erected 
at German Flatts for the use of white people. There had been an 
earlier mission church for the Indians. 

LITTLE FALLS 

The grist mill at this place was of much importance to the early 
settlers of the upper valley, and also to the people at Forts Herkimer 




OCTAGON CHURCH, LITTLE FALLS 



and Dayton after the destruction of German Flatts ; and the burning 
of the mill by the Indians and Tories in June, 1782, was a serious 
misfortune. 

A church was erected at Little Falls as early as 1796. It was of 
no historical importance, but is of interest as illustrating church 
construction of the time on the frontier, not that this type was com- 
mon, but it shows how simply the people built then. 



284 EARLY NEW YORK HISTORY 

The first building erected within the Hmits of the present city 
of Utica was a mud fort, situated between Main street and the river. 
It was known as Fort Schuyler and is oi interest now chiefly because 
it is sometimes confounded with the fort built at Rome, which was at 
first called Fort Stanwix, but during the Revolution was known as 
Fort Schuyler. 

FORT STANWIX 

Fort Stanwix was situated within the heart of the present city of 
Rome. It was built by General Stanwix after the defeat of Aber- 
crombie at Ticonderoga, and was given the name of its builder. It 
was a square fortification of considerable strength and so placed 
as to command the portage betw'een the Mohawk and Wood Creek, 
the latter being a stream flowing into Oneida Lake. There were 
several smaller works in the vicinity, the most important being Fort 
Newport on Wood Creek, and Fort Bull about midway between 
Forts Stanwix and Newport. At the time of the beginning of the 
Revolution h'ort Stanwix. upon which more than a quarter of a 
million of dollars had been expended, an immense sum for those 
times, was in ruins. It was repaired and named Fort Schuyler. 
The first American flag floated from this fort, it being made from 
materials at hand. The importance of this fort has been shown in 
the account given of the battle of Oriskany. 

A treaty of peace and amnesty was concluded between the Six 
Nations and the United States at Fort Stanwix in 1784. This re- 
sulted in setting at liberty many prisoners that had been held by the 
Indians. 

In 1768 an important council was held here, in which representa- 
tives of Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey met thirty-two hun- 
dred Indians of the Six Nations. The treaty concluded at that time 
was known as the "Treatv of Fort Stanwix." 



THROUGH THE MOHAWK VALLEY 285 

DURING THE REVOLUTION 

The Dutch and Germans were ardent Whigs, while the High- 
landers and other retainers of the Johnsons formed the bulk of the 
Tories. Johnson organized his followers into a body known as 
"Johnson's Greens," who were the bitterest and most cruel of all the 
foes of the patriots, not even excepting the Indians. Most of the 
Six Nations cast their lot with the British, though the Oneidas and 
a few others remained neutral or sided with the patriots. Among 
the most active and efficient of the patriots were General Herkimer 
and the missionary Samuel Kirkland. Jacob Klock, Ebenezer Cox, 
Samviel Campbell, and many others were imtiring in their efforts. 

The colonists of the Upper Mohawk, who, almost to a man, were 
patriots, were cut off from ready communication with other Whigs 
by the intervening district of Mohawk, which was completely under 
the domination of the Johnsons. 

In no other part of our country were the Tories so active and 
so malignant, or the Whigs so loyal and faithful, as in the valley 
of the Mohawk. In no other section did the Whigs suffer so severely 
in the cause of liberty. The story of the long struggle in the valley 
is one of intense interest. It has been briefly sketched in these 
pages, but the reader should not be content without fuller knowl- 
edge. He should read such works as "The Life of Sir William 
Johnson " and " The Life of Brant," by Stone ; " The Annals of 
Tryon County," by Campbell ; " The Old New York Frontier," by 
Halsey; "The History of Herkimer County," by Benton; "The 
History of Schoharie County," by Simms, and the many other vol- 
umes which the reading of these will suggest. 



APPENDIX 



APPENDIX 



A LIST OF WORKS CONSULTED 

Below is given a list of the works consulted in -eparing this volume. 
It is given for the benefit of those who may care t' extend their reading 
in the direction indicated: 

Memorial History of the City of New York Wilson 

History of the City of New York Lamb 

History of New York City Stone 

History of New York City Valentine 

Manuals of the Corporation of the City of New York . Valentine 

New York, Old and New Wilson 

Historic New York Goodwin, Royce, etc. 

History of New York City Todd 

Story of the City of New York Todd 

History of the City of New York Booth 

A Landmark History of New York Ulmann 

In Old New York Janvier 

New York Roosevelt 

Colonial Days in Old New York Earle 

New Amsterdam and Its People Innes 

The MetropoHtan City of America A New Yorker 

Annals of Old Manhattan Colton 

When Old New York was Young Hemstreet 

The Story of Manhattan Hemstreet 

New York City Smith 

The Province and the City of New York Miller 

Historical Discourse De Witt 

The League of the Iroquois Morgan 

The Iroquois Trail Beauchamp 

Iroquois Games Beauchamp 

Wampum and Shell Articles Beauchamp 

History of the Five Nations Colden 

289 



290 APPENDIX 

Indian Biography Thatcher 

Buffalo and the Senecas Ketchum 

Life of Brant Stone 

Life of Sir Wilham Johnson Stone 

Frontenac Street 

Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America Fiske 

The American Revolution Fiske 

The Conspiracy of Pontiac Parkman 

Montcalm and Wolfe Parkman 

A Half Century of Conflict Parkman 

Count Frontenac and New France Parkman 

The Old Regime in Canada Parkman 

La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West Parkman 

The Jesuits in North America Parkman 

Pioneers of France in the New World Parkman 

The Old New York PVontier Halsey 

Annals of Tryon County Campbell 

History of the State of New York Brodhead 

History of New York Roberts 

In the Mohawk Valley Reid 

The Hudson River Bacon 

Old Schenectady Roberts 

Life of General Philip Schuyler Tuckerman 

Sir William Johnson Buel 

History of Cherry Valley Sawyer 

The Sexagenary Bloodgood 

The Fort Edward Book .....' Bascom 

History of the Town of Quecnslniry Holden 

Reminiscences of Saratoga Stone 

Story of Old Saratoga Brandow 

History of Herkimer County Benton 

History of Erie County Johnson 

History of Cooperstown Shaw 

Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution Lossing 

The Burgoyne Campaign Stevens 

Burgoyne's Invasion Drake 

Northern New York Sylvester 

Lake Champlain and Its Shores Murray 

Lake George and Lake Champlain Butler 

Centennial CeleV)rations of the State of New York . . • 



APPENDIX ■ 291 

Sullivan's Expedition 

Sullivan's Campaign 

The Pathfinder of the Revolution Griffis 

The Battle of Oriskany Roberts 

Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow Bacon 

Old Trails on the Niagara Frontier Severance 

A Brief History of Old Fort Niagara Porter 

Goat Island Porter 

Sketches of Ticonderoga Cook 

Life of Arnold Sparks 

History of West Point Boynton 

Documentary History of the State of New York . . . 

New York Historical Collections, First Series, Vols. I. 

and I V 

New York Historical Collections, Second Series, Vol. I . 

Historical Collections of the State of New York. . . . Barber and Howe 

Life of Mary Jemison Seaver 

Incidents of Lake George De Costa 

History of Brule's Discoveries and Explorations. . . . Butterfield 

Cartier to Frontenac Winsor 

Historic Handbook of the Northern Tour Parkman 

Hochelaga Warburton 

History of Schoharie County Simnis 

Old Quebec Parker 

Centennial of the L^nited vStates Military Academy 

at West Point 

History of Lake Champlain Palmer 

Documentary History of the State of New York. . . . O'Callaghan 



ARTICLES OF CAPITULATION 

AS AGREED UPON BY THE DUTCH AND THE ENGLISH 

"These articles following were consented to by the persons here-under 
subscribed, at the Governor's Bowery, August the 27th, old style, 1664. 

"I. We consent, that the States General, or the West-India Company, 
shall freely injoy all farms and houses (except such as are in the forts) 
and that within six months they shall have free liberty to transport all 
such arms and ammunition, as now does belong to them, or else they shall 
be paid for them. 

"II. All publique-houses shall continue for the uses which they are for. 

"III. All people shall continue free denizens, and shall injoy their lands, 
houses, goods, wheresoever they are within this country, and dispose of 
them as they please. 

"IV. If any inhabitant have a mind to remove himself, he shall have 
a year and six weeks from this day, to remove himself, wife, children, ser- 
vants, goods, and to dispose of his lands here. 

"V. If any officer of state, or publique minister of state, have a mind 
to go for England, they shall be transported fraught free, in his Majesty's 
frigotts, when these frigotts shall return thither. 

"VI. It is consented to, that any peoble ma}' freely come from the 
Netherlands, and plant in this colony, and that Dutch vessels may freely 
come hither, and any of the Dutch may freely return home, or send any 
sort of merchandize home, in vessels of their own country. 

"VII. All ships from the Netherlands, or any other place, and goods 
therein, shall be received here, and sent hence, after the manner which 
formerly they were before our coming hither, for six months next ensuing. 

"VIII. The Dutch here shall enjoy the liberty of their consciences in 
divine worship and church discipline. 

"IX. No Dutchman, or Dutch ship here, shall upon any occasion, be 
pressed to serve in war against any nation whatsoever. 

"X. That the townsmen of the Manhattans, shall not have any soldiers 
quartered upon them, without being .satisfied and paid for them by their 
officers, and that at this present, if the fort be not capable of lodging all 

292 



APPENDIX 



293 



the soldiers, then the burgo masters, by their officers, shall appoint some 
houses capable to receive them. 

"XI. The Dutch shall enjoy their own customs concerning their inherit- 
ences. 

"XII. All publicjue writings and records, which concern the inheritences 
of any people, or the reglement of the church or poor, or orphans, shall be 
carefully kept by those in whose hands now they are, and such writings 
as particularly concern the States General, may at any time be sent to them. 

"XIII. No judgment that has passed any judicature here, shall be 
called in question but if any conceive that he hath not had justice done 
him, if he apply himself to the States General, the other party shall be 
bound to answer for the supposed injury. 

"XIV. If any Dutch living here shall at any time desire to travaile or 
traffique into England, or any place, or plantation, in obedience to his 
majesty of England, or w-ith the Indians, he shall have (upon his request 
to the governor) a certificate that he is a free denizen of this place, and 
liberty to do so. 

"XV. If it do appeare, that there is a publique engagement of debt, 
by the town of the Manhatoes, and a way agreed upon for satisfying that 
engagement, it is agreed, that the same way proposed shall go on, and that 
the engagement shall be satisfied. 

"XVI. All inferior civil officers and magistrates shall continue as now 
they are (if they please) till the customary time of new elections, and then 
new ones to be chosen by themselves, provided that such new chosen magis- 
trates shall take the oath of allegiance to his majesty of England before 
they enter upon their office. 

"XVII. All differences of contracts and bargains made before this day 
and by any in this country, shall be determined according to the manner 
of the Dutch. 

"XVIII. If it do appeare, that the West-India Company of Amsterdam, 
do really owe any sums of money to any persons here, it is agreed that 
recognition and other duties payable by ships going for the Netherlands, 
shall be continued for six months longer. 

"XIX. The officers military, and soldiers, shall march out with their 
arms, drums beating, and colours flying, and lighted matches; and if any 
of them will plant, they shall have fifty acres of land set out for them; if 
any of them will serve as servants, they shall continue with all safety, and 
become free denizens afterwards. 

"XX. If, at any time hereafter, the king of Great Britain and the States 
of Netherland do agree that this place and country be re-delivered into the 



294 APPENDIX 

hands of the said states, whensoever his majestic will send his commands 
to re-deliver it, it shall immediately be done. 

"XXI. That the town of Manhattans shall choose deputyes, and those 
deputyes shall have free voyces in all publique affairs, as much as any other 
deputyes. 

"XXII. Those who have any property in any houses in the fort of 
Aurania, shall (if they please) slight the fortifications there, and then enjoy 
all their houses as all people do where there is no fort. 

"XXIII. If there be any soldiers that will go into Holland, and if the 
Company of West-India in Amsterdam, or any private persons here will 
transport them into Holland, then they shall have a safe passport from 
Colonel Richard Nicolls, deputy-governor under his royal highness, and the 
other commissioners, to defend the ships that shall transport such soldiers, 
and all the goods in them, from any surprizal or acts of hostilit3^ to be done 
by any of his majestie's ships or subjects. That the copies of the king's 
grant to his roj-al highness, and the copy of his royal highness's commission 
to Colonel Richard Nicolls, testified by two commissioners more, and Mr. 
Winthrop, to be true copies, shall be delivered to the honourable Mr. Stuy- 
vesant, the present governor, on Monday next, by eight of the clock in the 
morning, at the Old Miln, and these articles consented to, and signed by 
Colonel Richard Nicolls, deputj^-govemor to his royal highness, and that 
within two hours after the fort and town called New Amsterdam, upon the 
isle of Manhatoes, shall be delivered into the hands of the said Colonel 
Richard Nicolls, by the service of such as shall be by him thereunto deputed 
by his hand and seal. 

"John De Decker Robert Carr 

NicH. Verleett Geo. Cartaret 

Sam. Megapolensis John Winthrop 

Cornelius Steenwick Sam. Willys 

Oloffe S. Van Kortlant Thomas Clarke 

James Cousseau John Pinchon 

"I do consent to these articles, 

"Richard Nicolls." 

These articles were extremely favorable to the inhabitants of Manhattan, 
but were so disagreeable to Stuyvesant that for two days after they were 
signed by the commissioners he refused to ratify them, and finally yielded 
very reluctantly after the inhabitants had brought great pressure to bear 
upon him. 



TRADE IN SCALPS 

Extract of a letter from Captain Gerrish of the New England Militia 
dated Albany, March 7, 17S2. 

"The peltry taken in the expedition will, as you see, amount to a good 
deal of money. The possession of this booty at first gave us pleasure; but 
we were struck with horror to find among the packages eight large ones, 
containing scalps of our unhappy folks taken in the last three years by 
the Seneca Indians, froin the inhabitants of the frontiers of New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and sent by them as a present to 
Col. Haldiman, Governor of Canada, in order to be by him transinitted 
to England. They were accompanied by the following curious letter to 
that gentleman. " 

TioGA, January 3rd, 1782. 
May it plp;ase your Excellency, 

At the request of the Seneca chiefs, I send herewith to your Excellency, 
under the care of James Boyd, eight packs of scalps, cured, dried, hooped 
and painted with all the Indian triumphal marks, of which the following 
is invoice and explanation. 

No. I. Containing 43 scalps of Congress soldiers, killed in different skir- 
inishes; these are stretched on black hoops, four inch diameter; the inside 
of the skin painted red, with a small black spot to note their being killed 
with Vjullets. Also 62 of farmers, killed in their houses; the hoops red; the 
skin painted brown, and marked with a hoe; a black circle all round to 
denote their being surprised in the night; and a black hatchet in the middle, 
signifying their being killed with that weapon. 

No. 2. Containing 98 of farmers, killed in their houses; hoops red; 
figure of a hoe to mark their profession; a great white circle and sun, to 
show they were surprised in the daytime; a little red foot, to sliow they 
stood upon their defence, and died fighting for their lives and families. 

No. 3. Containing 97 of farmers; hoops green, to show they were killed 
in their fields; a large white circle with a little round mark on it for the 
sun, to show that it was in the daytime; black bullet mark on some — hatchet 
on others. 

29.S 



296 APPENDIX 

No. 4. Containing 102 of farmers, mixed of the sevferal marks above; 
only 18 marked with a little yellow flame, to denote their being of prisoners 
burnt alive; after being scalped, their nails pulled out by the roots, and 
other torments; one of these latter supposed to be of a rebel clergyinan, 
his band being fixed to the hoop of his scalp. Most of the farmers appear 
by the hair to have been young or middle-aged men; there being but 37 very 
gray heads among them all; which makes the service more essential. 

No. 5. Containing 88 scalps of women; hair long, braided in the Indian 
fashion, to show they were mothers; hoops blue; skin yellow ground, with 
little red tadpoles, to represent, by way of triumph, the tears of grief occa- 
sioned to their relations; a black scalping knife or hatchet at the bottom, 
to mark their being killed with those instruments; 17 others, hair very 
gray; black hoops, plain brown color, no mark but the short club or casse- 
tete, to show they were knocked down dead, or had their brains beat out. 

No. 6. Containing 193 boys' scalps, of various ages; small green hoops; 
whitish ground on the skin, with red tears in the middle, and black bullet 
marks, knife, hatchet, or club, as their deaths happened. 

No. 7. 211 girls scalped, big and little; small yellow hoops; white 
ground; tears, hatchet, club, scalping knife, etc. 

No. 8. This package is a mixture of all the varieties above mentioned, 
to the number of 122; with a box of birch bark, containing 29 little infants' 
scalps of various sizes; small white hoops; white ground. 

With these packs the Chiefs send to your Excellency the following 
speech, delivered by Coneiogatchie, in council, interpreted by the elder 
Moore, the trader, and taken down by me in writing. 

"Father! — We send you herewith many scalps, that you may see that 
we are not idle friends. A blue belt. 

"Father! — We wish you to send these scalps over the water to the 
Great King, that he may regard them and be refreshed; and that he may 
see our faithfulness in destroying his enemies, and be convinced that his 
presents have not been made to ungrateful people. A blue and white belt 
with red tassels. 

"Father! — Attend to what I am now going to say; it is a matter of 
much weight. The great King's enemies are many, and they grow fast in 
number. They were formerly like young panthers; they could neither 
bite nor scratch; we could play with them safely; we feared nothing they 
could do to us. But now their bodies are become big as the elk, and strong 
as the buffalo, they have also got great and sharp claws. They have driven 
us out of our country by taking part in your quarrel. We expect the great 
King will give us another country, that our children may live after us. 



APPENDIX 297 

and be his friends and children as we are. Say this for us to the great 
King. To enforce it we give this belt. A great white belt with blue tassels. 

"Father! — We have only to say further, that your traders exact more 
than ever for their goods; and our hunting is lessened by the war, so that 
we have fewer skins to give for them. This ruins us. Think of some 
remedy. We are poor, and you have plenty of everything. We know you 
will send us powder and guns and knives and hatchets; but we also want 
shirts and blankets. A little white belt." 

I do not doubt but that your Excellency will think it proper to give 
some further encouragement to those honest people. The high prices they 
complain of are the necessary effect of the war. What ever presents may 
be sent for them throtigh my hands shall be distributed with prudence and 
fidelity. I have the honour of being 

Your Excellency's most obedient. 

And most humble servant, 

James Craufurd. 

Captain Dalton, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the United States, 
on the 5th of August, 1783, published the following estimate of the num- 
ber G-' Indians employed by the British during the Revolutionary War: 

Uchipweys 3000 Ottaways 300 

Sues and Sothuse 1 300 Mohawks 300 

Creeks 700 Onondagas . 300 

Choctaws 600 Foxes 350 

Cherokees 500 Muskulthe 200 

Kackagoes 500 Tuscaroras 250 

Delawares 500 Cayugas 200 

Sokkie 450 Abinokkie 230 

Chickasaws 400 Munseys 100 

Plankishaws 400 Oneidas 150 

Senecas 400 Tulawin 150 

Putaw^awtawmas 400 Mohickons 60 

Puyon 350 

Oniactmaws 300 Total 12,690 

Shawanaws 300 



INDIAN NAMES 



Ye say they all have passed away. 

That noble race and brave; 
That their light canoes have vanished 

From off the crested wave; 
That 'mid the forests where they roamed 

There rin ;s no hunter's shout; 
But their names are on your waters; 

Ye may not wash them out. 

— Mrs. Sigournev. 

The Iroqtiois have left their names for towns, rivers, lakes and moun- 
tains scattered throughout the state. These are conflicting, several differ- 
ent spellings of the name of the saine place being a matter of frequent 
occurrence. This is natural and in fact inevitable. The Indians had no 
written language. Each of the Six Nations had a different dialect, and 
each clan in the different nations had its peculiarities of language. The 
white men in listening to the Indian names would spell them as pronounced, 
and in that way would necessarily have a name for each dialect at least. 
Not only this but some of the names came through the Dutch or the French 
and in that way produced more confusion. In some cases one name ulti- 
mately found general acceptance, and in other cases only two forms were 
in common use, btit it must be apparent that there is a degree of con- 
fusion in names that is the source of considerable controversy. 

The following list gives a few Indian names, with their meanings, and 
the English names which have supplanted them. As there is no desire to 
give the pronitnciation neither diacritical marks nor accent marks are given: 

Ga-na-da-wa-o Rtmning through the hemlocks Dimkirk 

De-as-hen-da-qua Place for holding courts Elicottville 

De-on-gote Place of hearing Akron 

Do-na-ta-gwen-da Opening into an opening Bath 

Skwe-do-wa Great plain Elmira 

Ta-yo-ga At the forks Tioga Point 

Ne-o-dak-he-at At the head of the lake Ithaca 

Skoi-yase Place of whortleberries Waterloo 

Was-co Floating bridge Auburn 

298 



APPENDIX 



299 



Ah-wa-ga Where the valley widens Owego 

Skan-e-a-dice Long lake Skaneateles 

Us-te-ka Bitternut hickory Marcellus 

Ha-nan-to Small hemlock limbs on water. . . Jordan 

Ga-na-wa-ya A great swamp Liverpool 

Ga-sun-to Bark in the water Jamesville 

Ka-hu-ah-go Great or wide river VV'atcrtown 

Nun-da-da-sis Around the hill Utica 

Ole-hisk Nettles Oriskany 

Ka-da-wis-dag. . . . White field Clinton 

Ka-ne-to-ta Pine tree standing alone Canastota 

Chu-de-naang Where the sun shines out Chittenango 

0-che-nang Bull thistles Binghamton 

Do-sho-weh Splitting the fork Buffalo 

Ta-na-wun-da Swift water Tonawanda Creek 

Deo-on-go-wa The great hearing place Batavia 

Te-car-ese-ta-ne-ont Place with a sign post Wyoming 

Chi-nose-heh-geli . . On the side of the valley Warsaw 

Gen-nis-he-yo The beautiful valley Genesee River 

Nun-da-o Hilly Nunda 

Ga-ne-a-sos Place of many berries Conesus Lake 

0-ha-di Trees burned Geneseo 

Ga-nus-ga-go Among the milkweed Dansville 

De-o-de-sote The spring Livonia 

0-neh-chi-geh Long ago Sandy Creek 

He-soh Floating nettles Olean 

Ga-a-nun-deh-ta. .. A mountain flattened down Cazenovia 

Ga-sko-sa-go At the falls Rochester 

Date-car-sko-sase. . The highest falls Niagara Falls 

Ga-nun-da-gwa .... A place selected for a settlement . Canandaigua 

Ga-na-gweh A village suddenly sprung up. . . . Palmyra 

Ga-nun-da-sa-ga. .. New settlement village Geneva 

Ta-la-que-ga Small bushes Little Falls 

Ga-na-wa-da On the rapids Fonda 

Ga-na-jo-hi-e Washing the basin Canajoharie 

Sko-har-le Flood-wood Schoharie 

Ga-ha-oose Shipwrecked canoe Cohoes Falls 

Je-hone-ta-lo-ga . . . Noisy Ticonderoga 

Ta-ha-wus He splits the sky Mt. Marcy 

Se-ha-vus First hoeing of the corn Schenevus 



300 APPENDIX 

Ti-o-run-da Place where two streams meet. . . Fishkill 

Chic-o-pe A large spring Saratoga Springs 

Scho-no-we A great flat Schenectadj^ 

Ots-ga-ru-gu Hemp hill Cobleskill 

Sha-se-ounse Boiling water Seneca Falls 

Te-can-as-e-to-e. . . Board on the waRr Canisteo River 

Ag-wam Place abounding in fish Southampton 

Che-pon-tuc Hard climbing Glens Falls 

Kah-cho-quah-na. . Place where they dip fish Whitehall 

Al-ip-conck Place of elms Tarrytown 

Ga-na-yat Stone at the bottom of the water. Silver Lake 

De-o-wun-dake-no . Place where boats were burned. . . Albion 

Ga-na-wa-ga The rapid river St. Lawrence River 

It is possible that a few of the names in this list are Algonquin instead 
of Iroquois. 



EXECUTIVES DURING THE DUTCH AND ENGLISH 

COLONIAL PERIODS, AND SINCE THE 

STATE ORGANIZATION 



DUTCH PERIOD 

Names When Appointed or Elected 

623 



Adrian Joris 

Cornelius Jacobsen Mey 

William Verhulst 

Peter Minuit May 4, 

Wouter Van Twiller April, 

William Kieft March 28, 

Peter Stvtyvesant May 1 1, 



ENGLISH COLONIAL PERIOD 

Richard Nicolls September 8, 1664 

Francis Lovelace August 17 (O. S.), 1668 

Cornelius Evertse, Jr., and a council of war August 12 (N. S.), 1673 

Anthony Colve September 19, 1673 

Edmond Andros November 10, 1674 

Anthony BrockhoUes, Commander-in-Chief November 16, 1677 

Sir Edmond Andros August 7, 1678 

Anthony BrockhoUes, Commander-in-Chief January 13, 1681 

Thomas Dongan August 27, 1683 

Sir Edmond Andros August 1 1, 1688 

Francis Nicholson, Lieutenant-Governor October 9, 1688 

Jacob Leisler .June 3, 1689 

Henry Sloughter March 19, 1691 

Richard Ingoldesby, Commander-in-Chief July 26, 1691 

Benjamin Fletcher August 30, 1692 

Earl of Bellamont April 13, 1698 

John Nanfan, Lieutenant-Governor May 17, 1699 

Col. William Smith, Col. Abraham De Peyster, 
and Col. Peter Schuyler as oldest councillors 
in turn presided during the absence of Nan- 
fan from March 5 to May 19, 1 70 1 

301 



624 
625 
626 

633 
638 
647 



302 APPENDIX 

Names Vv'hen Appointed or Elect cii 

John Nanfan, Lieutenant-Governor May 19, 170 1 

Lord Cornbury May 3, 1702 

Lord Lovelace Lecember 18, i 708 

Peter Schuyler, President May 6, i 709 

Richard Ingoldesby, Lieutenant-Governor May 9, 1709 

Peter Schuyler, President May 25,1 709 

Richard Ingoldesby, Lieutenant-Governor Jnne i, 1709 

Gerardus Beekman, President April 19, 1710 

Robert Hunter June 14, 17 10 

Peter Schuyler, President July 21, i 7 1 9 

William Burnet September 17, 1720 

John Montgomerie April 15, 1728 

Rip Van Dam, President Ji-d}' i, 1731 

William Cosby August i, 1732 

George Clarke, President March 10, 1736 

George Clarke, Lieutenant-Governor October 30, 1736 

George Clinton September 2, 1 743 

Sir Danvers Osborne October 10, i 753 

James DeLancey, Lieutenant-Governor October 12, 1755 

Sir Charles Hardy September 3, 1755 

James DeLancey, Lieutenant-Governor June 3, 1757 

Cadwallader Colden, President August 4, 1760 

Cadwallader Colden, Lieutenant-Governor August 8, 1761 

Robert Monckton October 26, 1761 

Cadwallader Colden, Lieutenant-Governor November 18, 1761 

Robert Monckton June 14, 1762 

Cadwallader Colden, Lieutenant-Governor June 28, 1763 

Sir Henry Moore November 13, 1765 

Cadwallader Colden, Lieutenant-Governor September 12, 17^19 

Earl of Dunmore October 19, 1770 

William Tryon July 9, J771 

Cadwallader Colden, Lieutenant-Governor. . April 7, 1774 

William Tryon June 28, 1775 

Peter Van Brugh Livingston May 23, 1775 

The following two persons acted as military governors during the Revo- 
lution, but were not recognized by the state of New York: 

Names When Appointed or Elected 

James Robertson March 23, 1780 

Andrew Elliott, Lieutenant-Governor April i, 1783 



APPENDIX 303 

The following persons acted as executives during the earlj- part of the 
Revolution before a governor was dul}'' elected: 

Names When Appointed or Elected 

Nathaniel Woodhull, President pro inn August 28, 1775 

Abraham Yates, Jr., President pro tciu November 2, 1775 

Nathaniel Woodhull December 6, 1775 

John Harding, President pro tcm December 16, 1775 

Abraham Yates, Jr., President pro tcm August 10, 1776 

Abraham Yates, Jr August 28, 1776 

Peter R. Livingston September 26, 1776 

Abraham Ten Broeck March 6, 1777 

Leonard Gansevoort, President pro tcm April 18, 1777 

Pierre Van Cortlandt, President Council Safety.- May 14, 1777 



GOVERNORS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

Names Residence Date of Election 

George Clinton Ulster County •. . . . . Julv 9, i 777 

John Jay New York City April, 1795 

George Clinton Ulster Cotmty Ajiril, 1801 

Morgan Lewis Dutchess County Ajiril, 1S04 

Daniel D. Tompkins. . . . Richmond County April, 1807 

*John Tayler Alban}' County March, 18 17 

De Witt Clinton New York City 18 17 

Joseph C. Yates Schenectady November 6, 1822 

De Witt Clinton New York City November 3, 1824 

*Nathaniel Pitcher Washington County Februarj^ 11, 1828 

Martin Van Buren Columbia County November 5, 1828 

*Enos T. Throop Cayuga County March 12, 1829 

William L. Marcy Rensselaer Cotmty November 7, 1832 

William H. Seward Cayuga County November 7, 1838 

William C. Bouck Schoharie County November 8, 1842 

Silas Wright St. Lawrence Coitnty Noveinber 5, 1844 

John Yotmg Livingston Cotmty November 3, 1S46 

Hamilton Fish. New York City .November 7, 1848 

Washington Hunt Niagara County November 5, 1850 

Horatio Seymour Oneida County November 2, 1852 

Myron H. Clark Ontario County November 7, 1854 

♦Elected Lieutenant-Governor and succeeded to the office of Governor through the death 
or resignation of the Governtjr. 



304 APPENDIX 

Names Residence Date of Election 

John A. King Queens County November 4, 1856 

Edwin D. Morgan New York City November 2, 1858 

Horatio Seymour Oneida County November 4, 1862 

Reuben E. Fenton Chautauqua County November 8, 1864 

John T. Hoffman New York City November 3, 1868 

John A. Dix New York City November 5, 1872 

Samuel J. Tilden New York City November 3, 1874 

Lucius Robinson. . . . Chemving County November 7, 1876 

Alonzo B. Cornell. . . New York City November 4, 1870 

Grover Cleveland. . . Erie County November 7, 1882 

*David B. Hill Chemung County January 6, 1885 

Roswell P. Flower New York City November 3, 189 1 

Levi P. Morton Dutchess County November 6, 1894 

Frank S. Black Rensselaer County November 3, 1896 

Theodore Roosevelt. . . . Nassau County November 8, 1898 

Benjamin B. Odell Orange County November 6, 1900 

Frank Higgins Cattaraugus County November 8, 1904 

* Elected Lieutenant-Governor and succeeded to the office of Governor through the resig- 
nation of the Governor. 



MAYORS OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 



Names Year of 

Election 

Thomas Willett 1665 

Thomas Delavall 1666 

Thomas Willett 1667 

Cornelius Steenwyck 1668 

Thomas Delavall 1671 

Matthias Nicoll 1672 

John Lawrence 1673 

William Dervall 1675 

Nicholas De Meyer 1676 

Stephanus Van Cortlandt 1677 

Thomas Delavall 1678 

Francois Rombouts 1679 

William Dyre 1680 

Cornelius Steenwyck 1681 

Gabriel Minveille 1684 

Nicholas Bayard 1685 

Stephanus Van Cortlandt 1686 

Pieter Delanoy 1689 

Abraham De Peyster 1691 

Charles Lodowick 1694 

William Merritt 1695 

Johannes De Peyster 1698 

David Provoost 1699 

Isaac De Reimer 1 700 

Thomas Noell 1701 

Philip French 1702 

William Peartree 1703 

Ebenezer Wilson 1707 

Jacobus Van Cortlandt. ..... 17 10 

Caleb Heathcote 1711 

John Johnston 1714 

Jacobus Van Cortlandt 1719 



Names Year of 

Election 

Robert Wa?^ers 1 720 

Johannes J; 1 1725 

Robert Lur 1726 

Paul Richara ^735 

John Cruger ^739 

Stephen Bayard 1744 

Richard Holland. 1747 

John Cruger, Jr 1 7 5 7 

Whitehead Hicks 1766 

David Matthews (Mayor dur- 
ing the Revolution) 1776 

James Duane (First Mayor af- 
ter the Revolution) i 784 

Richard Varick 1 789 

Edward Livingston. . . . 1801 

De Witt Clinton 1S03 

Marinus Willett 1807 

De Witt Clinton 1808 

Jacob Radcliflf 1810 

De Witt Clinton 1811 

John Ferguson 1815 

Jacob Radcliff 1815 

Cadwallader Colden 1818 

Stephen Allen 1821 

William Paulding 1824 

Philip Hone 1826 

William Paulding 1827 

Walter Bowne 1829 

Gideon Lee ^^33 

Cornelius W. Lawrence 1834 

Aaron Clark 1837 

Isaac L. Varian 1839 



30s 



3o6 



APPENDIX 



Names Year of 

Election 

Robert H. Morris 1841 

James Harper 1844 

William F. Havemeyer 1845 

A. H. Mickle 1846 

William V. Brady 1847 

William F. Havemeyer 1848 

Caleb S. Woodhull 1849 

Ambrose C. Kingsland 185 1 

Jacob Westervelt 1853 

Fernando Wood 1855 

Daniel F. Tieman 1858 

Fernando Wood i860 

George Opdyke 1862 

C. Godfrey Gunther 1864 

John T. Hoffman 1866 

Thomas Comanor* 1868 



Names Year of 

Election 

A. Oakey Hall 1869 

William F. Havemeyer 187 1 

William H. Wickham 1875 

Smith Ely 1877 

Edward Cooper 1879 

William R. Grace 1881 

Franklin Edson 1883 

William R. Grace 1885 

Abram S. Hewitt 1887 

Hugh J. Grant 1888 

Thomas F. Gilroy 1892 

William L. Strong 1895 

Robert A. Van Wyck 189S 

Seth Low 190 I 

George B. McClellan 1903 



♦Acting mayor for a short time after Hoffman's election as Governor. 



NEW YORK CITY'S GROWTH IN POPULATION 



1653 1,120 

1661 1,743 

1673 2,500 

1696 4-455 

1731 8,628 

1756 10,381 

1773 • 21.876 

1786 23,614 

1793 33<'^3^ 

1800 60,499 

1810 96.373 



1823. 
1830. 

1835- 
1840 . 
1850. 
i860. 
1870. 
1880. 
1890. 
1900 . 
1905. 



123,706 
202,589 
270,068 
312, oco 

515.394 
814,254 
942,292 
,206,299 

.515.301 
.595.936 
,014,304 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Abercrombie, General James, 183, 

184, 219-223, 284 
Abraham, Little, 134 
Acomac Peninsula, 2 
Adirondacks, 92, 93, 96, 97, 128, 199 
Adjuton, 178 
Africa, 6, 56, 151, 252 
Akin, 132, 133 
Albany, 2, 3, 5, 18, 34, 101, 105, 136, 138, 

142, 147-149, 182-185, 188, 190-192, 

195, 205, 212, 213, 215, 216, 230, 231, 

237, 251, 252, 253, 265, 266, 270, 272, 

276; County, 34, 45, 104, 137, 265, 267 
Albout, 176 

Alden, Colonel Ichabod, 159, 163, 164 
Algonquin, 92, 95, 96 
Aigonquins, 18, 19, 91-94, 97-99. 101, 

102, 210, 211 
Allen, Ethan, 220, 236 
America, 6, 29, 42, 53, 138, 181, 218, 220, 

231, 252 
American, 6, 78, 81, 191, 235, 238, 239, 

281 
American Armv, 75, 186, 195, 198; Flag, 

208, 284 
Americans, 4, 69, 75, 79, 81, 186, 188, 190, 

192, 194, 195, 197, 207, 246, 262, 263 
Amherst, Lxird Jeffrey, 86, 146, 183, 184, 

219, 220, 222, 223, 224, 261 
Amsterdam, 5, 12, 182, 269 
Amusements, 41 
Anderson, John, 238, 242 
Andre, Major John, 65, 69, 78, 238-241, 

243, 244, 24"6, 247 
Andrews. Reverend William, 270 
Andros, Sir Edmond, 43, 46 
Andrustown, 160 
Anthony's Nose, 35, 251 
"Anti-renters," 36, 37, 38 
Anti-rent Troubles, 36 
Appletown, 177 



Arnold, General Benedict, 65, 69, 78, 186. 
196, 198, 206, 207, 235, 236, 237, 239, 
240, 242-246, 261, 262; Mrs. Benedict, 
238, 244 

Assembly, 44, 45, 136, 137, 138, 185 

Astor, John Jacob, 61, 62 

Athens, 175 

Auriesville, 271, 272 

Aurora, 179 

Barton, 176 

Battery Park, 65 

Battery, The, 5, 8, 65 

Battle of Bemis Heights, 198; Banning 
ton, 193; The Cedars, 155; Harlem 
Heights, 76; Lake George, 184; Johns- 
town, 272; Lexington, 62; Long Island, 
69, 75, 188; Minisink, 165; Niagara, 
153; Newtown, 177; Oriskany, 155, 
163, 194, 196, 199, 284; Plattsburg, 
264; Saratoga, 182, 186, 199 

Baum, Colonel Friedrich, 193, 194, 200 

Bayard, Nicholas, 48, 49 

Bayard, Peter, 67 

Beekman House, 69; Street, 70 

Beekman. James, 35, 69 

Bellinger, Colonel Peter, 201 

Bemis Heights, 197 

Bennington, 191, 200 

Bernard, Sir Francis, 152 

Bethlehem, 173 

Beukendaal. 268, 269 

Beukendaal Massacre, 268 

Beverley Robinson House, 237, 238, 243, 
244 

Beverwyck, 251 

Biddle, Colonel Clement, 253 

Big Flats, 177 

Binghamton, 176 

Block, Adriaen, 5, 85, 88 

Block House, 44 



309 



3IO 



INDEX 



Block Island, 5 

Blommaert, Samuel, 35 

Bloody Morning Scout, 144 

Bloody Pond, 143 

Bloomingdale Road, 75 

Bloominggrove Church, 173 

Board of Trade, 68 

Bogardus, Reverend Everardus, 12-14, 

16, 19, 20, 23, 24, 40 
Bolton, 216 

Boston, 9, 39, 43, 46, 62, 63, 220 
Bouquet River, 262 
Bouwerie, 31 
Bouwerie Lane, 63 
Bowery, The, 21, 25, 62, 63 
Bowling Green, 5, 17, 20, 65, 67, 85 
Boyd, Lieutenant Thomas, 178, 179 
Braddock, General Edward, 61, 138, 139, 

217 
Bradford, Governor William, 10; William, 

51,64,277 
Bradstreet, Colonel John, 183 
Brantford, i 56, 1 58 
Brant, Joseph, 107, 128, 134, 140, 148, 

151-156, 158-160, 162-167, 170, 177, 

201, 203, 234, 271, 274, 282; Molly, 

134, 135, 137 
Brant's Monument, 156 
Breyman, Colonel Heinrich C, 193, 194 
Brick Church, 76 
Bridge Street, 20, 85 
British, 69, 75, 76, 78, 79, 81, 83, 85, 155, 

156, 189, 191, 192, 194, 201, 215, 217, 

222, 223, 230, 234, 237, 238, 243, 246, 

252, 257, 261, 262, 263, 285 
British Government, 53, 77, 136, 146, 155 
British Soldiers, 62, 189, 190, 221, 263 
Broad Street, 13, 43, 59, 68, 85, 89 
Broadway, 5, 9, 14, 39, 59, 65, 78, 82, 84, 

85 ' ' 
Brodhead, Colonel Daniel, 173 
Brodhead, John R., 44 
Brooklyn, 76 
Brooklyn Bridge, 82, 86 
Brown, Colonel John, 197, 273, 274 
Brudenell, Reverend Edward, 195 
Brule, Stephen, 227 
Bunker Hill, 199 
Burgoyne, General John, 183, 184, 186, 



188-196, 198, 200, 205, 207, 208, 219, 

251, 262 
Burgovne's Invasion, 188 
Burr, Aaron, 61, 65, 85, 86, 184, 187 
Burton, Mary, 54, 55 
Butler House, 273 
Butler, John, 161, 162, 164, 170, 177,234, 

272; Walter, 163, 164, 170, 177, 234, 

272, 273; Colonel Zebulon, 161, 179 
Butler's Ford, 272 
Butlers, The, 159 



Cabot, Sebastian, i i 

Caldwell, 216 

Cambridge, 236 

Campbell, Colonel Samuel, 163, 285 

Campbell's History of Tryon County, 

Canada, 63, 90, 93, 97, 99, 101, 104, 

138, 140, 144, 155, 156, 158, 183, 

189, 193, 194, 197, 207, 21 1-2 1 4, 

229, 262, 271, 276 
Canada Creek, 179 
Canadian Indians, 99, 147, 265, 270 
Canadians, 142, 189, 212, 281 
Canajoharie, 153, 167, 172, 268, 274, 

280 
Canal Street, 10 
Canandaigua, 178 
Canoga, 180 
Canoga Creek, 180 
Cape May, 35 

Carleton, Sir William, 86, 257 
Cartier, Jacques, 93 
Castle Garden, 65 
Castle Island, 252 
Castleton, 191 
Caterouquoi, 229 
Catherine's Town, 177 
Cat Nation, 92, 97 
Catskills, 199 
Catskill Station, 36 
Caughnawaga, 167, 274 
Cavuga Castle, 179 
Cavuga Creek, 180, 229 
Cavuga Inlet, 180 
Cayuga Lake, 179, 180 
Cayugas, 92, 94, 95, 108, 116, 126, 

155, 171, 180 
Cedar Street, 72, 85 



164 
106, 
188, 
218, 



27/ 



146, 



INDEX 



311 



Chambly, 213 

Champlain, 263 

Champlain, Samuel, 93, 97, 98, 99, 210, 

219, 220, 226, 227, 259, 261 
Charter of Liberties and Privileges, 44 
Chatham Square, 21 
Chazy, 263 
Chemung River, 174 
Chenandoanes, 179 
Chenango, 176 
Chenango River, 176 
Cherokees, 90, 128, 282 
Cherry Hill, 82 
Cherry Street, 86 

Cherry Valley, 159, 160, 163, 164, 234, 272 
Chesapeake Bay, 2, 107, 188 
Chester, 173 
Choconut, 176 
Choharo, 179 
Chondote, 179 
Christiaensen, Hendrick, 9 
Citv Hail, 17, 59, 63 
City Hall Park, 86 
Clarke, Governor George, 54 
Claus, Daniel, 277 
Claverack, 35, 183 
Cliff Street, 70 
Clinton, DeWitt, 72, IS9 
Clinton, General James, 172, 174, 175, 

176, 274 
Clinton, Governor George, 69, 84, 85, 135- 

139, 185, 249 
Clinton, Sir Henry, 65, 75, 77, 239, 246, 

250, 251 
Clyde, Colonel Samuel, 163 
Cobleskill, 159- 
Cohoes, 34 

Colden, Cadwallader, 100 
Cole, Lieutenant Colonel Edward, 143 
Columbia County, 34, 275 
Condawhaw, 177 
Conesus Center, 178 
Conesus Lake, 178 
Congress, 60, 63, 75, 79, 82, 171, 172, 183, 

185. 186, 187, 248, 249, 280, 281 
Conihunto, 176 

Connecticut, 29, 68, 140. 152, 253 
Connecticut Valley, 7, 96, 214 
Constitution House, 250 



Constitution Island, 251 

Continental Army, 161, 171, 172 

Convent Avenue, 86 

Conway Cabal, 186 

Corlear (or Curler), Arendt, 35, 259, 265, 

266 
Corlear's Hook, 19 
Corporation Library, 5 1 
Cortlandt Street, 74 
Cosby, Governor William. t;i, 52, 54 
Courcelle, Daniel de Remi, 102, 103, 211, 

262 
Council of the League, 108 
Council, The, 20, 22, 43, 44, 46, 49, 50, 

52, 95, 108, 109, 125, 126, 132, 136, 

138, 139, 147, 150, 233 
Cox, Colonel Ebenezer, 201, 203, 285 
Crab Island, 263 
Cresap, Colonel Michael, 65, 113 
Crogan, Colonel George, 1 53 
Crompound, 240 
Crown Point, 139, 141, 144, 183, 214, 215, 

223, 259, 260, 261, 262 
Cruger, Colonel John, 185 
Cumberland Head, 262 
Cuylersville, 179 

Dallion, Joseph de la Roche, 227 
Dartmouth College, 1^2, 158 
D'Aubrey, Colonel, 146, 231, 232 
Daughters of the American Revolution, 

86, 87, 196 
Day's Tavern, 81 
Dearborn, Colonel Henry, 180 
Declaration of Independence, 63, 65 
De Graaf House, 269, 270 
De Lancey, James, 35, 64, 68, 185, 253 
De Lancey, Stephen, 68, 130 
Delaware, 29 
Delaware Bay, 2, 35, 107 
Delaware Countv, 37 
Delaware River, 4, 7, 26, 166 
Denonville, Governor Marquis de, 105. 

212, 229, 230 
Detroit, 147, 230 
De Vaux, Samuel, 180 
Devil's Hole, 232, 233 
Dieskau, Baron, 138, 142, 143, 215, 222, 

260 



312 



INDEX 



Dircksen, Cornelius, 21 

Dobb's Ferry, 239, 242, 256 

Dongan, Governor Thomas, 43, 46, 251 

Downie, Captain George, 263 

Duluth, 195, 196 

Durkee, Captain, i6i 

Dutch Church at Caughnawaga, 274 

Dutch Governors, 7, 8, 22 

Dutch, The, i, 4, 7, 8, 10-13, '5' '7-21, 
26-30, 33, 39, 40, 42, 43, 58, 69, 72, 84, 
92, 96, 99-102, 130, 131, 182, 252, 284 

Dutch West India Company, 6, 32 

East Canada Creek, 272 

East Cayuga, 179 

Easton, 172, 173 

East River, 9, 10, i^, 31, 38, 59 

Edgecombe Road, 01, 86 

Edmeston, 162 

Eighth Avenue, 81 

Elizabethtown, 173 

Ellison House, 253 

Elmira, 177 

Empire State, 4, 90, 209 

England, 4, 28, 29, 42, 43, 46, 49, 61, 106, 
138, 151, 152, 155, 156, 185, 210, 226, 
275, 276 

English, The, 10, 11, 13, 17, 21, 27-30, 
33, 43, 45, 46, 58, 65, 69, 90, 92, 96, 98, 
106, 131, 134, 136, 137, 138, 142, 146, 
147, 153-155, 181, 185, 210, 213, 215, 
218, 219, 221, 222, 225, 231-233, 253, 
275, 276 

Enterprise, Sloop, 261 

Eries, 92, 97, 101, 128 

Esopus Indians, 27 

Europe, 33, 113 

Exchange Street, 43 

Father Breboeuf, 227 

Father Chaumont, 227 

Father Hennepin, 96, 97, 228, 229 

Father Jogues, 100, loi, 141, 211, 266, 

271 
Father Lamberville, 229 
Father Millet, 230 
Father Vimont, 101 
Father Watteaux, 229 
Fayette, 180 



Federal Hall, 60, 82 

Ferry House, 76 

Fifty-first Street, 69 

First Dutch Church, 85 

First Free School Building, 72 

First Post-Office, 85 

Fishkill, 173, 243, 244, 249, 250 

Fishkill Landing, 256 

Five Nations, The, 94, 367 

Fletcher, Governor Benjamin, 50 

Flour Trade, 38 

Fonda, 272, 274 

Fonda, Douw, 274 

Fonda, Henry, 274 

Fort Amsterdam, 5, 10, 13, 18, 20, 21, 63, 
65, 85; Amherst, 23; Anne, 137, 209, 
215; Bull, 284; Constitution, 250; 
Conti, 228; Clinton, 251; Dayton, 162, 
201, 282, 283; Denonville, 229; Ed- 
ward, 140-142, 186, 191, 192, 199, 209, 
. 15-218, 223; Frontenac, 184, 228, 
;'.29; George, 170, 181, 223; Herkimer, 
162, 282, 283; Hunter, 169, 270-272; 
James, 21; Johnson, 132; Manhattan, 
20; Miller, 192, 199; Montgomery, 25 1 ; 
Nassau, 5; Newport, 284; Niagara, 
228-230, 232-234; Orange, 6, 266; 
Oswego, 145, 189; Paris, 273; Pitt, 
231; Plain, 278, 279; Putnam, 250; 
Schlosser, 232, 233; Schuvler, 167, 200, 
201, 205, 206, 208, 283, 284; Stanwix, 
188, 189, 195, 200, 283, 284; Stanwix, 
Treaty of, 284; St. Anne, 261, 262; St. 
Frederic, 261; Willcm Hendrick, 21; 
William, 21; William Henry, 21, 103, 
140, 141. 144, 216, 217, 223. 232; Wyo- 
ming, 160 

Forty Fort, 160 

Fourteenth Street. 65 

Fourth Avenue, 31 

France, 38, 46, 68, 101, 104, 106, 138, 210, 
226, 230. 275 

Francis, Colonel Ebenezer, 191 

Franklin, Benjamin, 139, 184, 253, 257 

Franklin House, 79, 82 

Eraser, General Simon, 191 

Fraunces, Samuel, 68 

Fraunces' Tavern, 68, 81, 82, 85, 89 

Fredenburgh Falls, 263 



INDEX 



313 



Free School Society of the City of New 
York, 72 

French Jesuits, 100 

French Protestants, 7 

French, The, 3, 5, 10, 42, 90, 96, 98, 99, 
101-106, 138, 139, 142-144, 146, 147, 
182, 183, 209, 211-215, 218-220, 222, 
223, 225-227, 229, 231, 232, 252, 253, 
257, 261, 262, 265, 270, 275, 282 

Frey, Heinrich, 277 

Friedericksen, Krvn, 10 

Frontenac, Count louis de Buade, 104- 
106, 161, 177, 212, 213 

Fulton, Robert, 65, 85 

Fulton Street, 76, 86 

Funeral Customs, 40 

Gage, General Thomas, 183 

Gallatin, Albert, 65 

Gansevoort, Colonel Peter, 196, 200-202, 

206, 208 
Gardenier, Captain Jacob, 204 
Garden Street, 83 
Gates, General Horatio, 172, 185, 186, 

197, 198, 2S3 
Gathtsegwarohare, 179 
Genesee, 171, 173 
Genesee River, 179 
Genesee Valley, 181 
Geneva, 178 
George III., 90 

German Flatts, 162, 268, 277, 281-283 
Germans, 284 
Germantown, 275 
Gewauga, 179 
Glens Falls, 137, 199 
Godyn, Samuel, 35 
Golden Hill. 62, 86, 88 
Golden Hill Inn. 86 
Gomez, Stephen, 3 
Goshen, 165, 166 
Goupil, Rene, 271 
Governor's Island, 15, 26 
Grafton, 36 

Grand Central Station, 75 
Grand River, i^S 
Grand Street Ferry, 19 
Grant's Tomb, 81, 83 
Grassy Brook, 166 



Great Bend, 176 

Great Britain, 46, 47, 136, 150, 192, 199. 

220, 233, 248 
Great Genesee Castle, 179 
Green Bay, 229 
Green burg, 247 
Greendale, 36 

Greene, General Nathaniel, 245, 253, 256 
Greenland Company, 3 
Green Mountains, 97, 199 
Griffin, The, 229 

Hale, Nathan, 61, 69, 86, 246 

Half-Moon, 2 

Half-Way Brook, 223 

Halsey's Old New York Frontier, 165 

Hamilton, Alexander, 65, 86, 184, 238, 

245, 256 
Hamilton, Andrew, 53, 54 
Hamilton Grange, 86 
Hand, General Edward, 163 
Haneyaya, 178 
Hanover, 152 
Hanover Street, 59 
Hanson, Hendrick, 272 
Hardiston, 173 
Harlem, 249 

Harlem Heights, 75, 76, 83 
Harlem River, 35 
Harper, Colonel John, 178 
Harpersfield, 167 

Hasbrouck, Colonel Jonathan, 253 
Hathorn, Colonel John, 166 
Havana, 177 
Haverstraw, 239 
Hell Gate, 9 
Helmer, John, 162 
Herkimer, 272, 281, 282 
Herkimer, General Nicholas, 197, 200- 

205, 208, 280, 285 
Hiawatha, 95, 96 
Highlanders, 147 
High Mightinesses, 23 
Hoboken, 26, 35 
Hochelaga, 92, 93 
Hoffman's Ferry, 268, 269 
Holland, 4, 15, 20, 22-24, 29, 31, 43, 266 
Holland Society, 85, 88 
Honeoye, 178 



3'4 



INDEX 



Honeoye Lake, 178 

Hoosick, 194 

I loricon, 219 

Hornellsville, 173 

Howe, Lord George, 183, 219, 221 

Howe, Sir William, 65, 69, 75, 77, 188, 

189, 200, 249 
Hubbard, Colonel, 174 
Hubbardtown, 191 
Hudson, City of, 2 

Hudson, Henry, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 84, 99, 137 
Hughson, John, 54, 55 
Huguenot Church, 76 
Huguenots, 9, 38, 104 
Huron-Iroquois, 91 
Hurons, 92, 93, 96, 97, 99, 100, 128, 210 

Indian Castle Church, 280, 281 

Indian Commissioner, 137, 138 

Indian Commissioners, 135, 136, 182 

Indian Confederacy, 18 

Indian Games, 122, 124, 125, 149; Names, 
112; Nations, 97; Massacres, 104, 106, 
159-162, 171, 179, 218, 272; Musical 
Instruments, 121; Raids, 99, 103, 104, 
153, 159, 271, 272; Tools, 117, 121, 
122; Tortures, 100, 179; Traders, 135; 
Utensils, 1 16-1 18, 121; Warfare, 17, 
loi; Wars, 20, 26, 37, 182; Weapons, 
117, 120, 121, 127 

I ndians, Food of, 115 

Indians, Western, 156 

Ingaren, 176 

Ingoldsby, Richard, 49, 50 

Ireland, 129, 134 

Irish, 45 

Iroquois, 19, 42, 46, 90, 92, 94-108, 1 10, 
III, 116, 120, 126, 128, 132, 134, 136, 
139, 140, 144, 147, 150, 168, 208, 210, 
211, 213, 227, 235, 261; Confederacy, 
I, 18, 42, 90, 91, 94, 98, 104, no, I IS, 
151, 159, 171; League of, 108, 109; 
Long House, 113, 114; Myth, 95 

Isle La Motte, 261, 263 

JAMESON, Colonel Henry, 243, 244 

James Ri\'er, 96 

Jans. Annetje, 14, 64, 84 

Jans, Roelof, 14 



Jay, John, 68, 250 

Jay, Peter, 67 

Jefferson, Thomas, 65, 113 

Johnson, Christopher, 129 

Johnson's Greens, 284 

Johnson, Sir Guy, 133,177,234 

Johnson, Sir John, 133, 147, 153, 167-170, 

177, 201, 204, 234, 272, 273, 274 
Johnson, Sir William, 128-144, 146, 147, 

149, 150, 152, 153, 154, 166, 178, 183, 

215, 217, 222, 231, 233, 260, 266, 274, 

277, 280, 282 
Johnson Hall, 148, 233 
Johnstown, 147, 148, 149, 268, 270, 272, 

273, 280 
John Street, 62, 83, 86, 87 
joncaire, Chabert, 225, 230 
Jones, David, 195 
jumel Mansion, 60, 86, 87 
Jumel, Stephen, 61 
Jumel, Mrs. Stephen, 61 

Kanaghsaws, 178 

Kanandaigua, 178 

Kanawaholla, 177 

Kanedesaga, 177, 178 

Kayadrosseros Trail, 102 

Kendaia, 177 

Kennedy House, 77. 85 

Kieft, William, 13-20, 22-25, 3^- ^7 

Kicft's Tavern, 85 

King Hendrick, 107, 138, 139, 140, 142, 

144, 150, 151, 153, 154, 253, 280 
King, Lieutenant, 243 
King, Rufus, 187 
Kingsbore Patent, 147 
Kingsbridge, 241 
King's College, 64 
King's Farm, 14, 64 
King's Ferrv. 240 
Kingsland. 268 

Kingston, 229, 230, 249, 250, 251 
King Street, 62 
Kip. Jacob, 3s, 38 
Kip's Bay, 38, 7s 
Kirkland, Reverend Samuel, is3. >5-!. 

285 
Klock, Colonel Jacob, 160, 163, 201, 285 
Knox. General Henry, 245, 253, 256 



INDEX 



315 



Knyphausen, General Wilhelm von, 61 
Kockerthal, Reverend Joshua, 275 
Kuyter, Jochem Pietersen, 22, 23, 24 

LaChine, 104, 212 

Lackawaxen, 166 

Lafayette, Marquis, 61, 65, 184, 238, 244, 

245, 256. 2S7 
Lake ChampL-iih, 93, 100, 102, 103, 105, 

137, 140, 142, 188, 189, 200, 209, 2iO, 

214, 215, 219, 259, 260, 261, 262, 264, 
266; Conesus, 178; Corlear, 259, 267; 
Erie, 92, 155, 228, 229, 233; George, 
93, 100, 102, 103, 137, 140-142, 144, 
153, 190, 191, 197, 199, 214, 215, 219, 
220, 222, 223, 232, 259; Huron, 229; 
Honeoye, 178; of the Iroquois, 259; 
Michigan, 229; Otsego, 275; Ontario, 
92, 223; Saint Sacrament, 100, 141; 
Superior, 101 

Lake George Battlefield, 1 50 

Lamb, John, 65 

La Montague, Dr. Johannes, 38 

La Motte, Captain, 228, 261 

La Prairie, 213 

La Salle, Robert Cavalier, 225-229 

Lawrence, James, 65 

Lawrence, Governor Eugene, 35, 139 

Lebanon, 152, 154 

Le Grande, 3, 4 

Leisler, Jacob, 46-50, 106 

Leicester, 179 

Lenape, 128 

Lewis, Morgan, 68 

Lewis, Robert, 65 

Lewiston, 228, 230, 232, 233 

Libertv Street, 72-74, 84, 85 

Lincoln, General Benjamin, 197 

Line of Descent, 1 1 1 

Little Beard's Town, 179 

Little Falls, 204, 268. 283 

Livingston, Colonel Henry, 239 

Livingston House, 256 

Livingston, Philip, 35, 36, 65, 185 

Livingston, Robert, 65, 68, 182 

Livingston Sugar House 85 

Lockport, 92, 225 

Logan, 107, 110, 113 

Long Clove Mountain, 239 



Long House, The, 113-115 

Long Island, 7, 29, 61 

" Long Room," 69 

London, 132, 149, 156, 184, 188, 270 

Loudon, Earl, 215, 222 

Loudon, Samuel, 250 

Lower Manor, 35 

Lower Salem, 243 

Lovelace, Colonel Francis, 14, 43 

Lutheran Church, 76, 278 

Lyman, Colonel Phineas, 140, 141, 144 

Mabie House, 267 

Mabie, Jan, 268 

Macdonough, Captain Thomas, 263 

Macomb, General Alexander, 263 

Macomb Mansion, 82 

Manchester, 191, 193, 197 

Mauckatawangum, 176 

Mackinaw, 229 

Manhattan, 11, 19, 39, 82, 85 

Manhattan Island, 3, 8, 20, 32, 33, 35, 62 

67, 104, 225 
Maquas, 92 
Marcy, Mount, 199 
Massachusetts, 51, 128, 139, 140, 144, 

173. ■93- ^S3 
Mauritius, 4 

Maxwell, General William, 173 
May Day Festival, 67 
McCrea, Jane. 195, 196 
McGinnes, Captain William, 143 
McGowan's Pass, 81 
M'Kinstrv, Captain John, 155 
McNeil, Mrs. Sarah,' 195 
Meeker, Major,- 166 

Megapolensis, Reverend Johannes, 101 
Melyn, Cornelis, 22, 23, 24, 25 
Mengwe, 92 
Miamis, 229 

Michaelius, Reverend Jonas, 10 
Michilimackinac, 230 
Middleburgh, 168, 169 
Middle Dutch Church, 72, 73, 76, 85, 86 
Middletown, 177 
Milborne, Jacob, 49, 50 
Military Academy, 247, 248, 249 
Miller, Andreas, 240 
Mingoes, 92 



3.6 



INDEX 



Minisink, 166 

Minuit, Peter, 8, 9, 10, 11, 18, 67 

Mississippi, 90, 107, 128, 146, 209, 225, 

233 
Mohawk, 93, 102, 111, 114, 134, 151-153, 

155, 156, 200, 201, 253, 259, 285 
Mohawk River, 34, 130, 159, 167, 169, 

195, 270, 274, 284 
Mohawks, 19, 35, 93-101, 103, 108, 115, 

126, 131, 132, 134, 137, 138, 155, 165, 

168, 210, 211, 213, 214, 220, 261, 262, 

266, 267, 271, 272 
Mohawk Valley, 130, 133, 154, 157, 159, 

167, 168, 171, 188, 208-211, 234, 235, 

265, 266, 268, 272, 276, 277. 282, 285 
Mohicans, 92, 96 

Monroe, Colonel George, 216-218, 222 
Montcalm, Marquis de, 144, 189, 215-222, 

229 
Montgomery, General Richard, 83 
Montgomery, Governor John, 51 
Montour, 234 
Montreal, 92, 93, 104, 146, 209, 212-214, 

230, 231, 235, 267 
Moore, Sir Henrv, 64 
Morgan, General Daniel, 186, 197, 198 
Morgan, Lewis H., 122 
Morris, Gouverneur, 67 
Morris, Roger, 60, 61, 238 
Moses Creek, 191 
Mount Defiance, 190, 221 
Mount Johnson, 132, 139, 147 
Murray, Colonel, 263 
Murray Hill, 76 
Murray House, 76 
Murray, Mrs. Mary Lindley, 75 

Nassau Street, 63, 84, 85 

Narrows, The, 220 

Negro Plot, 54 

Netherlands, 9 

Neuter Nation, 92, 97, 225, 227 

New Amsterdam, i, 4, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 17, 

21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 39, 40, 42 
Newburg, 173, 253, 254, 275 
New Dutch Church, 84 
New England, 25, 28, 43, 46, 58, 61, 63, 

128, 141, 185, 188, 197, 214, 235 
New Hampshire, 140, 152, 173, 253 



New Jersey, 19, 26, 35, 46, 74, 173, 284 

New Netherland, 21, 23, 32 

New Netherland, Ship, 7, i 1 

Newtown, 177, 179 

New Windsor, 173 

New York, 1,4, 5, 9, 10, 18, 29, 38, 39, 
42-46, 48, 50-56, 58, 60, 62-65, 69~7'' 
75-77, 79, 82-84, 90. '04. '30. 138-141, 
151, 155, 159, 160, 181, 185, 188, 189, 
194, 199, 209, 229, 257, 277, 280, 281, 
Bay, 2, 3, 30, 99, 107, 209; Custom 
House, 21; Frontier, 169, 171; His- 
torical Society, 85; Weekly Journal, 
51, 52 

Niagara, 90, 92, 139, 140, 144, 146, 180, 
181, 225, 227-234 

Nicholson, Francis, 46, 47, 48, 50 

Nicola, Colonel Lewis, 253, 254, 256 

Nicolls, Colonel Richard, 29, 30, 31, 42, 

43. 49 
Nodawas, 92 
North Castle, 243 
North Dutch Church, 76, 84, 86 
North Hector, 177 
Northmen, 3 
North River, 4 
Nottawavs, 90 
Nova Scotia, 133, 139 

Oghwaga, 163 

Ohio, 147, 152 

Ohio Vallev, 138, 139, 230 

Old Frev House. 278 

Old Senate House, 250 

Old South Church, 83 

Old Sugar House, 73, 74 

Old Town, 179 

One Hundred Fortv-first Street, 86 

One Hundred Sixty-first Street, 61, 88 

One Hundred Twentv-fifth Street, 81 

Oneida Historical Society, 208; Lake, 

194. 200. 284 
Oneidas. 92-95, 108, 126, 154, 159, 200, 

201, 206, 214, 272, 273, 285 
Onondaga, 108; Lake, 95 
Onondagas, 92-95, 108, 115, 126, 172, 

274 
Onoquaga. 176 
Orange County, 45, 173, 275 



INDEX 



3'7 



Oriskany, 159, 166, 197, 200, 201, 205, 

208 
Oriskany Creek, 201 
Osborne, Sir Danvers, 64 
Oswego, 93, 146, 159, 183, 188, 1 04, 215, 

231 
Otsego Lake, 160, 172, 175, 275 
Otseningo, 176 
Ottaways, 128 
Owagea, 176 
Owego Creek, 176 
Owegy, 176 

Palatine, 268, 273, 275, 277, 281, 282; 

Bridge, 277, 278; Church, 278, 280 
Palatines, 275-277, 281, 282 
Pamlico Sound, 3 
Parker, Ely, 120 
Parr, Major, 178 

Patroons, 8, 12, 13, 17, 27, 32, 33, 36, 38 
Paulding. John, 241 242, 247 
Paulus Hook, 35, 195 
Pauw, Michael, 35 
Pavonia, 19, 26, 35 
Peach Orchard, 177 
Pearl Street, 10, 13, 67, 85, 89 
Peck Slip. 21 
Peekskill, 35, 173, 247 
Pennsylvania, 139, 172, 173, 175.253,276, 

284 
Philadelphia, 9, 21, 51, 53, 237 
Philipse, Frederick, 35, 60, 69, 185, 237 
Philipse Manor House, 60, 69, 70 
Philipse. Mary, 60, 69 
Pine's Bridge, 240, 241 
Pittsburgh, 173 
Plattsburg, 263 
Point Iroquois, 101 
Pontiac, 147, 1 53, 233 
Pontiac's War, 147 
Poor, General Enoch, 173 
Porter, Peter A., 227 
Post-Office, 86 
Pouchot, M., 231, 232 
Poughkeepsie, 36 
President of the United States, 21, 60, 

69, 82, 86 
Prideaux, General John, 146, 231 
Prince Maurice, 4 



Prince of Orange, 45 
Prisons, 63, 76, 77, 78, 86 
Provost, Sir George, 263, 264 
Putnam, General Israel, 75, 183, 238 

Quebec, 83, 92, 99, 101, 102, 188, 198, 

224, 225, 230, 236 
Queen Anne, 14, 151, 270, 271 
Queen Anne's Chapel, 270 
Queen Esther, 161, 177 
Queen Mary, 45 

Rangers, 202 

Ransom, Captain, 161 

Rapelje, Sara. 7 

Red Jacket, 107 

Rensselaer County, 36 

Restless, The Yacht, 5 

Revenge, The Schooner, 261 

Rhinebeck, 36 

Richelieu River, 97, 99, 210, 211 

Richmond Hill, 86 

Robinson, Colonel Beverlev, 237 

Robinson, John, 237 

Rochambeau, de, Count, 184, 256, 257 

Rochester, 228 

Roelantsen, .Adam, 13 

Rome, 200, 265, 268, 283, 284 

Romeyn, Reverend Thomas, 274 

Romney, George, 152 

Romulus, 180 

Rotterdam, 268 

Royal Greens, 202, 204 

Royal Savage, The Schooner, 261 

Runonvea, 176 

Rutland, 191 

Sacandaga, 102 

Salem, 55 

Salinburgh, Peggy, 55 

Sampson's, 263 

Sandy Hill, 137, 199 

Saratoga, 102. 105, 106, 182, 187, 192, 

197, 199, 200, 214, 215, 236, 237 
Saratoga Battle Monument, 198 
Schenectady, 102, 105, 106, 130, 172, 211, 

212, 252, 265-269, 272, 274, 277 
Schoharie, 159, 160, 168, 247, 276, 277 
Schoharie County, 167, 247 



v^ 



INDEX 



Schoharie Creek, 167, 169, 270 
Schoharie Valley, 157, 159, 167, 171,234, 

276 
Schools, 70, 72 

Schuyler, Captain Johannes, 183, 213 
Schuyler, Hon Yost, 206, 207; General 

Philip, 35, 106, 182-187, 191, 192, 196, 

197, 206, 212, 213; Peter, 182, 265, 270; 

Philip Pieterse, 182, 183; Pieter, 213; 

Mansion, Albany, 183, 184; Mansion, 

Schuylerville, 184 
Schuylerville, 183, 198, 199, 213 
Scotch, 43, 182 
Scotch Irish, 147 
Seal of the City of New York, 38 
Senate House, Kingston, 250 
Seneca, iii, 120, 177, 228, 220; Lake, 

178; River, 178; Castle, 178 
Senecas, 92, 94, 96, 97, 99, 108, 109, 1 15, 

116, 128, 146, 155, 164, 163, 171, 173, 

180, 225, 227-230, 233 
Seventeenth Street, 31 
Shawanese, 152 
Shawhiangto, 176 
Shenanwaga, 178 
Sheoquaga, 177 
Shippen, Margaret, 237 
Shirley, Governor William, 139, 140, 144 
Six Nations, The, 91, 94, 126, 131, 136- 

138, 144, 146-148, 154, 135, 167, 182, 

201, 233, 252, 253, 282, 284, 285 
Sixth Street, 31 
Sixteenth Street, 70 
Skenesborough, 190-192, 197, 260 
Skene, Sir Philip, 260 
Skoiase, 178 
Slave Market, i;^, 59 
Slavery, 55, 56, 131 
Slaves, 17, 35, 56, 82 
Sloughter, Governor Henry, 47, 49, 50 
Smith, Joshua Hett, 239, 240 
Society Library, 51 
Society of Cincinnati, 256 
Soldier's Fortune, 173 
Sons of Liberty. 62, 63. 65, 86, 88 
Sons of the Revolution, 85, 88, 89 
South Bav, 21 5, 260 
South River, 4 
Spain, 6, 7 



Spaniards, 3, 10 

Spanish, 3, 6, 7 

Spanish Silver Fleet, 6 

Springfield, 160 

Stadt Huys, 17, 89 

Stamp Act, 62, 63 

Stark, General John, 183, 193, 194 

Staten Island, 19, 26, 30 

State Senate, 187 

State Street, 20 

States General, 5, 6, 11, 24, 32 

Steuben, 280 

Steuben, Baron Frederick William Au- 
gustus, 184, 245, 256, 280, 281 

Steubenville, 281 

Stillwater, 192, 197 

Stirling, General I homas, 243, 256 

Stockwell, Lieutenant Levi, 206 

Stone Arabia, 273 

Stone's Life of Brant, 165 

Stone Street, 13, 38 

Stony Point, 239, 257 

St. Clair, General Arthur, 190, 191, 219, 
220 

St. George's Chapel, 70 

St. John's Episcopal Church at Johns- 
town, 149 

St. Johnsville, 278 

St. Lawrence Campaign, 153 

St. Lawrence, 91-93, 96, 97, 99, loi, 209- 
211, 252 

St. Leger, Colonel Barry, 189, 190, 194- 
196, 200-202, 204-208 

St. Mark's Church, 30, 32, 87 

St. Paul's Chapel, 83, 85 

St. Paul's Church, 80 

St. Paul's Churchyard, 83 

Stuyvesant, Governor Peter, 13, 21-28, 
30-32, 33, 58, 63. 69, 84, 87, 249 

Sub-Treasurv Building, 63 

Sugar Loaf Mountain, 237 

Sullivan, General John, 116, 162, 166, 
172-175, 179, 181, 274 

Sullivan's Expedition, 116, 159, 165, 168, 
171, 173, 177, 181 

Sulpician Missionaries, 227 

Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 139, 
144, 146 

Susquehanna, 91, 92, 160, 172 



INDEX 



319 



Susquehanna River, 92, 172, 174-176 

Susquehanna Valley, 159, 165, 166, 171 

Susquehannocks, 92 

Swaaendael, 35 

Swedes, 10, 26, 96 

Switzer's Hill, 272 

Switzerland, 277 

Tallmadge, Major Benjamin, 243 

Tappan, 243, 245, 246, 247 

Tarrytown, 241, 246, 247 

Teller's Point, 239 

Thacher, Dr. James, 161 

Thayer, Major Sylvanus, 248 

" The Parade," 67 

"The Plaine," 67 

Third Avenue, 31, 32 

Thirty-fifth Street, 38, 75 

Thirty-fourth Street, 70 

Ticonderoga, 98, 141, 184-186, 189, 190, 

197, 210, 215, 219, 220, 222, 223, 237, 

259-261, 284, 285 
Tiger, The Ship, 5 
Tioga Point, 161, 172, 174 
Toll, Daniel, 268, 269 
Tomahawk, 120-122, 128 
Tories, 151, 159, 162-165, 167, i6q, 170, 

176, 179, 200-202, 204, 206, 208, 235, 

237, 239, 282-284 
Totem, 108, 109 
Tracy, Marquis de Prouville de, 102, 103, 

211, 262 
Treason House, 239, 240 
Tribes Hill, 167, 272 
Trinity Estate, 84; Church, 14, 32, 58, 

59, 64, 70, 78, 84; Churchyard, 64, 78; 

College, 64 
Trout Brook, 221 
Troy, 34 

Troyes, Sieur de, 229 
Tryon Count v, 14Q, 164, 169, 267 
Tryon, Governor William, 75, \m 
Tuscaroras, 90, 94, 108, 126, 176 
Tusten, Colonel Benjamin, 166 
Twelfth Street, 31, 32 

Ulster County, 7, 45, 137 

Unadilla, 159, 162, 163, 176; River, 176 

Underhill, Sarah, 240 



Union, 176 

Union Springs, 179 

Union Square, 83 

United Netherland Company, 5 

United States, 21, 50, 74, 156, 248, 281, 

284 
Upper Canada, 156, 158 
Upper Cayuga, 179 
Ury, John, 55 
Utica, 201, 283 

Vail's Gate, 253 

Valcour Island, 261, 262 

Valiries, Martin D., 97 

Van Corlear (or Van Curler) Arendt, 35, 

loi, 1 14, 265, 266, 267 
Van Courtlandt, Stephanus, 183; Pierre, 

35, 185; Manor, 247; Manor House. 

257 

Van Dam, Rip, 5 1, 52 

Van Duyck, Hendrick, 26 

Van Ness, Reverend David, 135 

Van Rensselaer, General Robert, 273, 
274; Kiliaen, 12, 27, 34, 35, 266; Jo- 
hannes, 35; Stephen, 41; Reverend 
Nicholas, 182; Manor, 35; Manoi 
House, 34 

Van Twiller, Wouter, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18 

Van Wart, Isaac, 241, 247 

Vaughn, General, 251 

Vermont, 93, 137, 194, 199 

Verplanck, Gulian, 68, 258; Samuel, 256 

Verplanck's Point, 239, 240, 256, 275 

Verrazano, John, 3, 4, 252 

Vesey, William, 64 

Vesey Street, 64, 85 

Vestal, 176 

Victor, 228 

Virginia, 2, 139, 237, 284 

Visscher, Colonel Frederick, 201 

Culture, The, 239, 240, 244, 245 

Wadsworth, Colonel Jonathan, 253 

Walloons, The, 7, 9 

Wall Street, 28, 39, 55, 58, 60, 63, 84 ■ 

Wampum, 125-128, 137, 139 

Warner, Colonel Seth, 191, 193, 194 

Warren, Anne, 129 

Warrenbush, 130 



320 



INDEX 



Warrenpoint, 129 

Warrensburgh, 130, 131 

Warren, Sir Peter, 70, 129, 130, 131 

Warren Street, 14 

Warwick, 166, 173 

Washington Arch, 82, 83; Island, 229; 

Monument, 83; Square, 83 
Washington, General George, 38, 60-62, 

65, 69, 70, 75, 76, 81-83, 85~87' '7'' 

172, 174, 184, 187, 192, 197, 237, 238, 

243-245. 247. 248, 253, 254, 256. 257, 

281 
Waterloo, 178 
Watson, 25 1 

Wayne, General Anthony, 257 
Webb, General Daniel, 216, 217, 222 
Weisenburg, Katherine, 133 
Weisenburg, Reverend Jacob, 135 
Wells, John, 164 
Wells, Robert, 164, 165 
West Canada Creek, 201 
Westchester, 35, 45, 247 
West India Company, 6, 8, 9-15, 17, 2:, 

22, 33, 84 
West Point, 235-237, 239, 243, 244, 247, 

248, 250, 25 1, 257 
Wheelock, Dr. Eleazar, 152, 154 
Whigs, 284, 285 
Whitehall, 24, 186, 190, 212, 259, 260 



Whitehall Street, 13, 20 

White Plains, 241, 242, 249 

Wilkinson, Colonel James, 198 

Willemstadt, 251 

Willett, Colonel Marinus, 65, 204, 206 

Williams College, 143 

Williams, David, 241, 242, 247; Colonel 

Ephraim, 142, 143 
William and Mary, 46, 47, 106 
William of Orange, 46 
William III. of England, 21 
William Street, 59, 60, 62, 85-87 
Windsor, 176 

Winthrop, General Fitz John, 212 
Wolcott, Governor Oliver, 68 
Wolfe, General James, 84, 224 
Wood Creek, 191, 194, 259, 284 
Wood's Creek, 194, 195, 200 
Wright, Governor Silas, 37 
Wyoming, 159, 160, 166, 171-173, 272 
Wyoming Massacre, 162, 174, 234 

YoNKERs, 70 

Yorktown, 256 

Young, Governor John, 37 

Zenger, John Peter, 51-54, 63, 277 
Zenger's Trial, 59 
Zeringe, 176 



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